Action and Reaction
by ShadowDancer01
Summary: All actions have reactions. A single action years ago has had profound consequences. Shego is broken out of prison and Dr. Director know Kim is to blame. KIGO
1. Prison Break

**Prison Break**

**Disclaimer – **I don't own Kim Possible.

**A/N **– This is my first attempt at a long fanfic. Please note the story starts three months after Kim's 21st birthday and details of how the current situation came about will be revealed as the story progresses. It will be Kigo in the future [and has been in the past, just not right now :-) ].

This story is an AU and diverges from canon early in the fourth season before Mad Dogs and Aliens, so there are no Lowardians in this universe and no Hana.

UPDATED VERSION - no major changes just minor spelling and grammar corrections.

Chapter 1 – Prison Break

Shego sat in her cell, bored as she was everyday. She wasn't allowed out even for exercise, given access to news stories or allowed to have visitors. Not that visitors would be able to visit her even if it was allowed since she was currently in the Ultra-Secure Wing of Global Justice's Super-Max Prison for Extraordinary Threats, the exact location of which was one of the most highly classified secrets in the world. Only the most dangerous criminals were sent there and then only if it was proven that other prisons could not hold them. Each cell was specifically designed for its occupant in order to neutralize the powers and abilities they had. Even if the cell itself could be escaped, the prisoners were still trapped in a prison carved from the living rock 200 meters underground, somewhere in the American Southwest.

She remembered how Dr. Director had taken such joy in telling her of these facts when she was first incarcerated. Betty had simply laughed at her when she vowed to escape and detailed the special construction of her cell. The entire cell was made from a ceramic-metallic composite that even her plasma could not penetrate and if the cell was breached it would trigger rock gates and doors to close, blocking any escape. While her plasma could melt the rock, the entire area was designed to funnel any resulting molten rock into the cell, killing her. She had spent the first six months of her incarceration testing her cell and planning her escape until she had finally realized the futility of her effort and simply given up.

Shego had never been one to give up but in her current situation, it was the only option. She knew that had she continued to work on trying to escape, she would have only served to drive herself crazy. Sure, when she had surrendered to Global Justice, she had planned to escape at the first opportunity but even now she didn't regret her decision. For probably the only time in the last ten years, she had made a decision with the well-being of someone else in mind. Even now, three and half years latter, it still surprised her some that she had given up her freedom to help another person, particularly as that person was her arch-enemy, Kim Possible. She took comfort in fact that she had helped Kim to avoid some of the troubles she had undergone herself on her journey from hero to villain.

She cocked her head at a faint vibration seemingly coming from down the corridor in front of her cell. After a moment she realized that in a facility carved from solid rock there should be no vibrations. She knew something serious was up when the lights flickered before finally failing and an alarm started to sound, an alarm that Betty had said was purely a bureaucratic measure since prisons must have alarms in case of escape. As the reality of the situation, an escape in a prison even she thought was escape-proof, started to sink in, a series of dull explosions could be heard, the sound muffled by the intervening rock. Moments later, sounds of a fight could be heard coming from down the corridor where, if Shego remembered what she had seen when she was first brought here, the guardroom for her cell was located.

Shego had moved to the back of her cell, ripping the sleeves from her prison uniform in preparation for using her plasma. After the sound of fighting had stopped there was silence for a minute before the sound of some sort of machinery could be heard coming from the door to her cell. As the door started to vibrate, Shego ignited her plasma, illuminating her cell with a flickering green light. The vibration of the door increased as did the sound of the machinery until the door gave way with the screeching sound of rending metal. As the machinery that had been used to force the door open pulled back a figure could be seen moving into the cell.

Shego raised a plasma covered hand as she addressed the figure. "I don't mean to seem ungrateful for you breaking me out but we need to cover some ground rules first. One, I . . . ."

Shego stood motionless, stunned speechless by the sight in front of her. Although the figure was wearing a mask, she knew the shape and movement from years of experience, as both friend and foe. As the figure stopped and removed the mask, Shego asked. "Princess, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be living your life without me."

Kim shook her hair out after removing the mask and smiled at Shego before answering. "I think it is pretty obvious that I am breaking you out of prison but I guess all this time in here has dulled your wits. Now come on, we don't have much time."

Shego simply stared at Kim, stunned for a moment before she smirked. "All right, let's go, but don't think this conversation is over."

Kim nodded her head and motioned for Shego to follow her asshe exited the cell and moved down the hall. Shego glanced at the equipment used to open her cell, recognizing several pieces of heavy hydraulic equipment typically used on bank vaults and the like and realized this had been a well planned escape with nothing left to chance, before she hurried down the corridor after Kim. They came to the guardroom that controlled the entrance to her section of the prison and Shego paused to look around at the results of the fight while Kim didn't even break stride as she stepped over the bodies littering the room and entered the hallway leading to the rest of the prison. Shego took only a moment to look over the bodies, realizing that Kim had seemed to have developed a vicious streak in the last few years if the broken bones and dislocated joint meant anything, before she exited the room and made her way down the hallway after Kim.

They made their way down the hallway until they came to an intersection where Kim turned to the left without hesitation. Shego followed in silence, her eyes constantly probing her surroundings, looking for threats in the shadows cast by the dim illumination from the emergency lights set in the walls at wide intervals. They made their way to a small room off the hallway where a ladder lead to the upper levels. Shego watched Kim climbing before her and wondered how far they had to go before they would make good their escape. She resolutely refused to think about why Kim would be here, breaking her out of prison or what this meant for their relationship.

Once they had gone up three levels, Kim stopped and moved out into another hallway with Shego trailing close behind. They swiftly moved down several more hallways before reaching a room that had once been sealed from the corridor by special high strength doors that now lay in a twisted mass on the hallway floor. The cause of damage to the doors was evident from the equipment in the room, what looked to Shego like a new version of the Hench Co. Vault-Buster 2000. The rest of the room was taken up with a variety of tools and equipment. Directly behind the room was another short hallway that lead to a safety door marked "Danger High Voltage".

Kim pushed through the safety door without breaking stride, revealing a large electrical substation obviously dedicated to providing power for the prison, and made her way to large machine in the far corner of the room that sat near a large hole in the floor. The machine was evidently some form of subterranean tunneling device that had served as Kim's means of entrance to the prison. Looking around the room, Shego was pleasantly surprised when she saw that instead of simply cutting the power to the complex as most amateurs would have done, Kim had actually shorted out the entire system by bypassing the transformer and sending the raw 4.4kV current through the system, destroying virtually every piece of equipment in the prison. This insured that even if power was restored to the prison, the authorities would still need to replace all of the destroyed equipment before they could resume normal operation. In addition, large amounts of the data stored in the system would have been destroyed by the power spike, potentially hampering any attempts at pursuit.

Shego quirked any eyebrow at Kim as she exited from the large machine pushing a motorcycle that was draped with a set of motorcycle leathers and had two helmets hanging from the handlebars. Kim made her way over to Shego and tossed the set of leathers to her.

"Hurry up and change, we need to be going soon if we want to insure there is no pursuit." Kim told her before she moved to the machine and started working on some device mounted to the side. Shego nodded and moved to a corner out of Kim's sight to change, realizing the need for haste and therefore putting off asking any of the multitude of questions she had. Once she had changed, she made her way back to the bike where she was joined by Kim who had finished whatever she had been doing to the device.

Kim straddled the motorcycle and tossed her one of the helmets as she donned her own. "Let's go. I want to get as much of a lead of Global Justice as we can before the pursuit starts."

Shego tightened the strap on her helmet and climb onto the bike behind Kim. "Why the motorcycle?"

"The tunneling machine only has a top speed of 5 miles-per-hour, which was OK for getting in here but not so good for escaping. The bike is much faster and can easily navigate the tunnels the machine left. Ready?"

Without waiting for an answer Kim gunned the motorcycle, startling Shego who clutched Kim tight for safety as they sped off down the tunnel. After a moment, Shego relaxed and grinned in pleasure, some of her old love for speed and danger reawakening. She felt the depression and sense of helplessness that had settled over her when she had accepted that she was not going to be able to escape lift as if by magic as they made their way down the tunnel. Her rebellious spirit and sense of adventure grew as the distance from the prison increased until she almost felt like her old self as they came to a stop in the middle of a tunnel next to a large device Shego recognize as a Hench Co. Super Hot Foot Thermal Generator. As soon as they had stopped Kim walked the bike over to the device and started to manipulate the controls.

"I used the self destruct on the tunneling machine to seal the entrance to the tunnel. I am going to set this to activate in fifteen minutes. It will melt the rocks sealing the tunnel behind us. The tunnel slants down in the direction we are going so the molten rock will flow in that direction, filling a large section behind us."

When Shego started to protest about the danger she continued, "About five hundred yards farther down, the tunnel changes direction and starts to climb toward the surface. The lava will be trapped at that low point."

Shego shook her head in amazement at the thoroughness of Kim's planning and motioned for her to proceed once she had finished with the device. Kim didn't say a word as she gunned the motorcycle down the tunnel towards freedom. The tunnel was straight and had only a slight grade so Kim was able to increase their speed to over 50 mph without danger. Shego felt of rush of adrenaline wash over her as they barreled down the tunnel with the headlight flashing of the rock, illuminating their way. After a few minutes Shego felt the tunnel start to rise instead of fall and knew they had passed the low point in the tunnel and were on their way to the surface and freedom. Within five minutes she saw a patch of light growing ahead and realized they were almost to the surface.

As the light ahead grew rapidly in size and brightness Kim gradually slowed their speed until they burst into the sunlight as Kim skidded to a halt. They both climbed off the bike and removed their helmets, squinting in the bright sunlight as their eyes adjusted to light. Shego glanced around and saw they were in a high walled ravine that was cluttered with equipment. Over by the ravines entrance, a large flatbed truck that must have been used to transport the tunneling machine had been backed up. In the cul-de-sac opposite that there was a pile of cases that must have held the other equipment Kim had used for the prison break. While Shego had been looking around Kim had rapidly moved to several pieces of equipment sheltered under a tarp that formed her base camp.

After spending several minutes wearing headphones and listening to something coming over them she smiled and remove them. "Good news. Turns out Global Justice was caught completely unprepared for your escape and is still struggling to get into the prison."

Shego stifled a laugh. "You mean when they made it so hard escape from they also made it hard to enter?"

Kim giggled as she answered. "Yep, they installed all sorts of high tech device to control access. Everything was designed to lock down if there was an escape attempt. When I knocked out the power I also knocked out the only means they had of access the prison. From the radio traffic I intercepted they are still trying to breach the main doors. It looks like they are going to have to fly in some heavy equipment before they can gain access."

Shego burst out laughing at the thought of Global Justice being locked out of the prison by their own security measures. After a moment Kim joined her and they simply sat laughing for several moments. Once they had regained their composure, Kim moved over to another section of the sheltered area and started rummaging in the cases there.

"Would you like something to eat? I don't have much variety but at least it is nutritious."

Shego had removed her jacket, which was much too warm for the desert heat, and now stood with her hip cocked to one side in a pose that Kim had seen dozens of time. As Shego shook her head she said. "Still can't cook, Kimmie? I would have though you would have learned how by now."

Kim gave her an annoyed look that softened when she saw the smirk on her face and realized she was being teased. She tossed an MRE to her. "Here, eat this. I didn't bring anything that needed to be cooked since I was on a mission not a vacation. Once you are finished we can get on our way."

Shego opened the MRE and started to eat, surprised at how the good the normally marginal contents tasted. She realized that it wasn't the quality of the meal that was so good but the variety. In prison, she had been feed a standard diet designed to provide complete nutrition without regard to taste. After three years of the same monotonous diet, she simply had to eat something different and it tasted like ambrosia.

"Aren't we in a hurry to get away? So far we have been moving like a bat out of hell." She mumbled around a mouthful of food, remembering with pleasure their high speed adrenaline filled motorcycle ride through the tunnel.

Kim nodded to her as she sat on a case near by and started to eat her own MRE. "That was when I was worried about immediate pursuit. Since we know GJ hasn't gotten into the prison and probably won't for several hours more, that means they have no idea who has escaped, if they had outside help or what direction they went."

Shego nodded and took a drink from a water bottle Kim had passed her along with her MRE. "I see your point. Do you mind telling me about how you pulled this off? First where did you get the equipment?"

Kim looked searchingly at her for a moment, glad she had kept her questions to immediate concerns, before answering. "Most of the equipment I got from a Hench Co. warehouse. I stopped by late one night and did a little after hours shopping. The tunneling machine was originally built by Dementor but he sold it to the Seniors after he made a navigation error during its testing and surfaced in the middle of the Baltic instead of the main vault of the National Commerce Bank of Switzerland."

Shego gave a short laugh at the idea of Dementor almost drowning when he surfaced in the middle of the Baltic Sea. She finished her MRE and tossed the trash into a can near by. "So what did the Seniors do with it?"

Kim finished her meal and tossed her trash away as she rose and motioned for Shego to follow. "The old man was going to use it to break into Fort Knox and steal all the gold in the depository but before he could Junior took it to use as a party bus. He got about ten miles before he tried to tunnel through a cavern and flipped it, leaving him stranded. Once his father found out, he grounded Junior and took away his credit cards for a week. The tunneling machine he sold to Gemini, who was planning on using it to destroy Global Justice's network of transport tubes."

Kim paused as they reached a pile of duffel bags and started to go through them, searching for something. After a minute she pulled out several items of clothing and passed them to Shego. "Here, I think these will fit. We can't have you running around in an orange prison jumpsuit and those leathers are way too hot to wear for long in this heat."

Shego took the clothes and looked them over. She took a pair of dark green pants and a black button down shirt and passed the rest back to Kim. She looked around for a place to change before giving a mental shrug and pulling off the rest of motorcycle leathers and the prison jumpsuit. She glanced at Kim to gauge her reaction to seeing her in her grey prison undergarments. She felt mildly disappointed that Kim's face and actions betrayed no hint of embarrassment or interest. She pushed her curiosity down and added this to her list of item to ask about once they were safe.

"So what happened with Gemini's attempt to take out GJ's transport tubes? Let me guess, he accidentally put in reverse and took out his own base."

Kim gave a chuckle and replied with a smile. "Close. He discovered that the tunnels it made were so large that in taking out GJ's tube system he destroyed most of his own in the process. It set his efforts back so much he tried to sell the tunneling machine to raise money. By then the thing had such a bad reputation that no one, even Drakken, would touch it no matter what the price. Gemini had no choice but to put it in storage, where I found it and liberated it."

Shego had finished dressing and followed Kim as she went to a control panel nearby. Kim flipped several switches and then led Shego around the flatbed to where she has a car waiting. She motioned Shego to get in as she climbed behind the steering wheel. Shego took a moment to admire the car, a late model luxury sedan with tinted windows and a souped up engine if the sound it made when Kim turned it over was any indication. She climbed into the passenger seat and sighed at the comfort of the leather seat.

"This is wonderful. I have been sitting on a hard metal chair for the last three years. This feels heavenly." She leaned back in the seat and relaxed, closing her eyes as she let out a contented sigh.

Kim shook her head in amusement as she put the car in gear and drove out of the ravine and into the surround desert. She turned the car to the east and headed for the highway. It was not the shortest way but it kept them close to the bluffs which would help shield them from observation by satellite and aerial surveillance. They drove in silence for several minute before Shego opened her eyes as she sat up in the seat.

She turned to Kim and looked at her for a moment before she asked. "Aren't you afraid GJ will find the equipment and use it to track you? So far you haven't left a single clue for them to find."

Kim glanced at her out of the corner of her eye a slight smile playing at her lips. "Nice to see you have lost your sense of professionalism or your survival instincts. The entire area was mined with explosives and thermite, all hooked to timers. If you remember, just before we left I flipped several switches on that control panel?"

At Shego's nod, she continued, "That activated the timers. In about twenty minutes the entire site will be destroyed."

Nodding her head Shego settled back in her seat and asked. "How did you find the prison in the first place? And how did you get information on the exact layout of the prison and where I was held?"

Kim's face was hard as she kept her eyes on the road and said nothing. Shego though she wasn't going to answer when Kim suddenly started to speak, her voice low and dangerous. "I . . . contacted several Global Justice agents and . . . persuaded them to tell me what they knew."

Shego shivered slightly in her seat. Normally Kim was a goody-goody who would never break the rules but she knew from experience that if pushed she could be the hardest hard case of all. A memory flashed through her mind, of a clearing in the jungle with a military officer tied between two trees and Kim using pressure points and joint manipulations to break the man without leaving a mark on him. Shego had interrogated him for over an hour by conventional means without results but Kim had broken him in ten minutes.

It had been Shego's first encounter with Kim's dark side and it had frightened her more than she was comfortable admitting, even to herself. After that she knew that if Kim embraced her dark side she would be a far more terrifying figure than Drakken or any of the other villains she knew. That had been when she decided to do what ever it took to keep Kim from joining her and becoming a villain. She vowed to have a real talk with Kim about what had caused her to stage the rescue just a soon as they reached a safe place.

Kim continued talking, unaware of the turmoil in Shego's mind. "I didn't need them to tell me about the specifics of your cell since Dr. Director did that herself." She looked at Shego gave her a smirk. "When I said you would easily escape from whatever prison they put you in, she went into great detail about the construction of your cell to prove to me you weren't going to be escaping anytime soon."

Shego nodded at her a lapsed into silence for the rest of the trip. The traveled down the highway for a little over an hour before Kim pulled off the highway and entered a small town. She made her way to an isolated house on the outskirts and pulled the car into the garage. Once they were stopped, Kim reached under the dash and pushed a button. The door to the garage closed and once it was closed the floor started to sink into the ground. After they had dropped ten feet, a concrete slab slid into place replacing the floor of the garage. They sank fifty feet before coming to a stop in a large room, whose lights came on automatically. Kim climbed out of the car and looked at Shego.

"Are you coming?"

"Yea, yea, I'm coming. Don't get your panties in a bunch." Shego groused as she climbed from the car. "What is this place anyway?"

Kim headed down a short hallway towards another room. "It was a safe house used by a minor villain called the Dessert Fox. After he was captured it was abandoned since no one knew of its existence. I appropriated it about two months ago when I found out I would need a safe house in this area."

"The Desert Fox, never heard of him. What was he, some fan of Erwin Rommel?"

Kim laughed, "Not Desert Fox, Dessert Fox, a crazed baker named Pat Iseray, who staged pastry themed crimes." She gave another laugh at the look of bafflement on Shego's face. "I know how you feel. I had Wade looking for some hidden plan for weeks after he was captured but we never found a hint that he was anything more than what he seemed."

They had reached the main room of the lair where Kim flopped down in a large chair. She pointed to the left and then the right. "The kitchen is through there if you are hungry, the bedrooms and bathrooms are through there if you want to freshen up, I even have some more clothes for you."

Kim stopped speaking as she saw the look on Shego's face. She sighed, knowing that Shego would want answers about why she was there and she couldn't stall anymore. She motioned to the seat across from her. "Sit down, this is going to take a while to explain." Shego looked into Kim's eyes for a moment before she sank into the indicated chair and regarded Kim.

"Why are you here, Kim? The last time I saw you, you were on the way back to your home in Middleton, all ready to resume your perfect life."

Kim gave a short bitter laugh. "That's what I though too."


	2. The Pursuit of Truth and Justice: part 1

**The Pursuit of Truth and Justice (part 1)**

**Disclaimer – **I don't own Kim Possible.

**A/N – **Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed the first chapter. I know I promised some people to post sooner but this chapter took longer to write than planned. My muse didn't abandon me, instead she grabbed me by the brain and dragged me along. By the time I was finished the chapter was twice the planned length. I tried to cut it down but that didn't work so I split it into two part instead. This chapter gives more of the back story between Kim and Shego and also helps explain Kim's actions.

UPDATED VERSION—no major changes just minor spelling and grammar corrections.

Chapter 2 – Pursuing Truth and Justice (part 1)

Kim sat gathering her thoughts, while Shego fidgeted in her seat. After a moment, Kim started to haltingly speak.

"I don't know where to begin. I – it's complicated."

Kim paused for a moment and Shego jumped to her feet and started to pace the room, worry etched on her face. Abruptly, she stopped pacing and confronted Kim.

"Pumpkin, you better not be about to tell me you still love me." Shego resumed pacing as she continued, gesturing wildly as she talked. "I meant what I said when Betty took us into custody in Plantain. Breaking-up was for your own good. Giving up your old life to stay with me wasn't worth it. Once the initial excitement had worn off, once we weren't on the run, being hunted by the government with only each other to rely on, your feelings would have changed. You would have missed your family and friends and all the parts of your storybook life. Soon you would have been blaming me for your troubles."

"You were right." Kim's words were soft but stopped Shego in mid-tirade. Shego turned to look at her a mix of surprise and disappointment on her face.

Kim stood and went to her, placing a hand on one cheek. "Don't get me wrong, what we had was wonderful and I will never forget it, but you were right. It was based on the extreme situation we were in and would have faded once things went back to normal."

Shego regarded her for a moment, a gentle smile on her face, before setting her face in a serious look. "You still don't get it, Kimmie, do you? Things would never have been normal again. We would have been wanted and on the run for the rest of our lives. The life you would have had to lead would have hardened your heart and corroded your morals. You – you would have been corrupted."

As Shego stopped speaking, afraid she had revealed too much, Kim directed her back to her seat and gently pushed her into it. Kim resumed her seat across from her before she spoke. "You don't know how much hearing you say those things means to me. It seems you are the only person who actually cares for me. Everyone else either wants to use me for their own ends or is afraid to have anything to do with me for fear they will be labeled a criminal."

Shego stared at the look of heartbreak on Kim's face, a look that was swiftly hidden behind an affable mask, and resolved to press on. "OK, pumpkin, what happened to you? You were supposed to get your perfect life back," a look of self-pity flashed across Shego's face, "not become a villain."

Kim reached over and squeezed Shego's hand as she answered. "I want to tell you but its hard to know where to start. I mean, I have three years to cover and a lot happened." Kim exhaled loudly and muttered. "It was easier telling Betty."

"You told, Betty? What's the story with that? I would have thought she would know what was going on." Shego had clasped Kim's hand and leaned forward to look into her face.

Kim gave her a wry smile. "Well, she stopped by Smarty Mart when I was working in order to question me. I couldn't believe it when she started to act like she didn't know what was going on, so I kind of lost it as I told her what was happening."

Shego wondered why Betty had gone to visit Kim and what she wanted to ask her about. Even more she wanted to know why Kim was working at Smarty Mart, a place she knew Kim hated from listening to her complain about Ron's love of the store. An idea dawned on her, a way to get answers to both questions as well as giving Kim a place to start her explanation.

"Why don't you tell me about her visit? It will give you a place to start in telling me what had happened."

Kim nodded and started to talk.

~O~O~O~

Dr. Director hadn't believed the 'Where Are They Now?' news story she had seen, that reported that Kim Possible was currently working at Smarty Mart and living in a small, run down apartment on the edge of Lowerton, but she had to believe her eyes when she saw her wearing a Smarty Mart vest and helping customers in the local Middleton Smarty Mart. Once she finished with her last customer Dr. Director approached her, intending to find out what had happened to drive her into working here.

"Welcome to Smarty Mart, Where Smart Shoppers, Shop Smart. How may I help you?" Kim inquired, an insincere smile on her face and a dark fire hidden in here eyes.

"I came to see if what I had heard about you was true. Why are you working here? I would have thought you would be attending college."

Kim stifled a snort of disbelief. "You know very well why I'm working here. Now, if you don't have anything related to Smarty Mart I can help you with, I have to get back to work."

When Kim turned to leave Dr. Director grabbed her arm. She felt Kim tense and saw her hand form a fist and start to rise before Kim got control of herself and lower her hand. Kim turned to face her and was about to speak when they were interrupted by a voice from behind them.

"Is there a problem here?"

They turned and saw one of the managers standing there, a look of professional concern on his face. Once he saw Dr. Director's uniform, his face clouded and his demeanor of professional concern dropped.

"More of you people. You have been warned about harassing Miss Possible while she is at work. Let her go or I will have to call the police."

Dr. Director let Kim's arm go in surprise at the import of the manager's words. She hadn't expected either his hostility or his being willing to confront her head on. Kim observed her reaction and made a split second decision.

"Mr. Sala, I would like to take my break now. I think I can clear this up quickly." Kim kept her voice neutral but allowed her emotions to show on her face for a moment.

Seeing Kim's face convinced the manager to give into her request. "Very well, Possible. Go on your break."

Turning to Dr. Director, he spat at her. "Can't you people just leave her alone? She is one of my best employees and never has any trouble but regular as clockwork you people come poking around asking questions and bothering her."

Dr. Director watched him walk off, a bemused look on her face, before turning to Kim, her professional mask slipping back into place. Once Kim saw she had Dr. Director's attention, she turned and led her to the rear of the store where they went through a door marked 'Employees Only', down a short corridor and through another door into the rear parking lot.

Once the door had closed behind them and they were alone, Kim turned to face Dr. Director, a look of pure contempt on her face. "So, did you come to see the results of your handy work? Decided to pretend you didn't know what had happened so you could rub salt in the wound? Can you give me one reason I shouldn't just beat you senseless right now?"

Dr. Director had involuntarily taken a step back in shock at the intensity of Kim's emotion but, gathering her resolve, looked Kim in the eye and replied coolly. "I have no idea what you are talking about. The last I knew, you had been placed on probation until you turned twenty-one but, other than that, your life was supposed to go back to normal."

Kim stared at her for a minute in surprise before shaking her head and continuing. "If you are telling the truth, you're an idiot. I was placed on probation alright, but did you think about what that would mean? Not only was I forbidden to go on any more missions but I couldn't leave Middleton without permission. I was prohibited from have any more contact than necessary with my 'associates'. That meant I couldn't have anything to do with Wade and could only see Ron, my boyfriend, at school. In addition I was also forbidden from participating in any after school activities, so I had to quit cheerleading and all of my school clubs and community service work."

Dr. Director nodded in reply, so far everything she had heard were things she already knew, before she asked. "You had to pay for what you did. It still doesn't explain why you are working at Smarty Mart instead of attending college."

Kim gave her a look that seemed to say, you are a bigger idiot that I thought, before replying. "What college could I go to? I couldn't leave the Middleton area without permission and when I asked for it, I was told that attending college was not a valid reason to be allowed to leave the Middleton area. I couldn't go to Upperton University since the campus is 200 yards outside my allowed area. The Middleton Institute of Science and Technology was off limits since they handle many classified projects for various government agencies and my presence would have jeopardized those grants."

Kim started to pace as she talked. "That left Middleton Community College, the local cosmetology school and the Middleton Institute of Secretarial Sciences. I had no interest in either cosmetology or secretarial work so that left the community college. I started to enroll but they refused to take me when my probation officer demanded complete access to any work I did there as well as my person files and any other file deemed relevant."

"You want to know why I work here?" Kim glared at Dr. Director, who was looking troubled by what Kim had said so far.

"I am working here since I have to have a job to pay for rent and food. Maybe you have forgotten but normal human beings have to work to support themselves, they don't have a cushy, no work government job to live on. I tried to find other jobs but, with the conditions the probation board was setting, this was the only job I could get. What did you expect me to do, become homeless and starve to death on the streets?"

Dr. Director's mind was reeling with everything Kim had said. She grasped at an unanswered question, "Why didn't you just stay at your parent's house? I am certain they would have supported you no matter what."

Kim snorted in derision. "I had to move out as soon as I graduated. My father deals with many classified projects and my mother has a high security clearance in order to deal with high government officials. My probation meant they both would have lost their jobs if I had stayed at home. They let me stay with my family until I finished High School but after that, I had to live on my own. My parents couldn't even help me pay my bills without risking their careers. Any more stupid questions?"

Dr. Director gulped, realizing the situation was spiraling out of control, and asked the first question to cross her mind. "How – how about friends? I know Ron would do anything for you."

Kim's face clouded with anger, her hand clenching into fists as tears involuntarily started falling down her checks. "Friends, what friends? Once I graduated, I couldn't see Ron, my best friend since pre-K, at all. We had tried to stay boyfriend and girlfriend but your goons put a stop to that, saying it was a violation of my probation. He moved away soon after graduation so he could get on with his life. I don't even know where he is, since any contact would be a probation violation. With your thugs always hanging around, questioning anyone who came near me, no one else would give me the time of day, let alone help me."

Dr. Director stared at Kim's tear stained face, unable to believe that things had gotten this bad without her knowledge. Here mind raced, try desperately trying to find something, anything that would salvage the situation. "Why – why didn't you contact me or someone else at Global Justice? I am certain we could have fixed the situation, given you a job, something?"

Kim gave a bitter laugh, shaking her head in disbelief at Dr. Director's words. "You are a prize moron. I though your brother was crazy but you have him beat by a mile. Who do you think set the terms of my probation? I will give you a clue, it was Global Justice."

Kim's laugh stopped and her face hardened again. "Give me a job? Would have that been like the internship you offered me when I graduated? The one that limited me to support roles like cook and janitor because my probation made me a security risk. If I have to do menial labor to survive, I sure as hell wouldn't do it for the people who forced me into that situation. Even a whipped dog has some pride. There is no way I would put myself in a position to let you kick me while I was down."

Dr. Director shoulders slumped in defeat. When the conversation had started, she had felt certain Kim had been overreacting, blowing things out of proportion, but now she knew that things were far worse than she could have ever imagined. She wondered how thing had so out of hand and what could be done to fix them. A glimmer of hope grew in her as an idea started to form.

"How – how about fixing things for you? I can get the probation terminated, have you admitted to almost any school you want, even make you a full agent for Global Justice."

The hope was plain to see on Dr. Director's face and Kim took great pleasure in crushing it. "Can you get me my friends back? How about the last three years of my life? Maybe you can restore my reputation? If you make me an agent, will I be able to look into crimes against humanity in Plantain or would you expect me to be a good little German. No, Betty, that ship sailed long ago and you were at the helm."

An evil grin crossed her face as she continued. "You know what the best part is? Shego was actually right. Our relationship wouldn't have lasted. It was a product of the extreme situation we were in. After I got home, I though long and hard for the next few months about my life and the choices I had made. I realized that becoming a villain in order to stay with Shego was the wrong choice. I looked forward to picking up where I had left off, having Ron as my boyfriend, going off to college and spending the rest of my life helping others. It was a nice dream but you killed it Betty. You tore it to pieces, stomped it into the ground and laughed as you did it."

Kim moved closer to Dr. Director, until she stood only inches from her. Her voice was low and menacing as she spoke. "You should be proud Betty, you have done what even Shego wouldn't, you have made me a villain. In three months, my probation is over and you will no longer have any control over me or my life. As soon as that happens, I will disappear and you will never be able to find me. I will spend the rest of my life working to destroy you and Global Justice."

Kim gave an evil grin at the look of concern that crossed Dr. Director's face. "Oh, don't worry Betty. I won't do anything crude like bombing your headquarters or killing your agents. I have something far worse planned. I am going to expose you and your flunkies for the evil incompetents you really are. I will dig up every dirty secret you have and shout it to the world. Every time you make a mistake I will be there, pointing it out to the media."

Kim stared into her eye for a moment, an unholy delight shining in her eyes, before she continued. "I wonder who will destroy you first. Will it be your hidden backers, afraid of their secrets becoming public, or an angry public, disgusted with the evil of your actions."

Kim turned and started back into the building. "Sorry I have to go, but my break is over and I don't want to lose my job."

Dr. Director stood and silently watched Kim leave, her mind whirling with the reality of the situation, the menace Kim's of threats and the implication of the last words she had heard from Kim. They had been said in a low voice, almost as though to herself, but Dr. Director was certain Kim had intended for her to hear them.

"I may even look up an old girlfriend."

~O~O~O~

"Damn, Princess. Sounds like you really gave it to old Betts. Were thing really that bad?"

Kim, looking spent from reliving the emotion of her story, nodded at Shego. She took several deep breaths to steady herself before she answered. "Yes, they were. I didn't have any friends or family I could talk to. It looked like my life was on a downward spiral with no hope for things to get better. That why I decided to go after Global Justice, to give my self a goal to work toward."

Shego studied Kim for a moment before nodding. "OK. I can see that. Tell me you have a plan for dealing with GJ and are not just winging it."

Kim smiled at her. "Yes, I have a clever plan."

Shego started to nod before she froze and stared at Kim, who smiled at her with a playful twinkle in her eye. "Princess, tell me you did not just quote Blackadder at me? It was bad enough working for the big blue dork, I don't need you to starting acting loopy."

Kim laughed. "I'm just kidding. I found a complete DVD collection when I moved into the lair. Besides, you should have seen the look on your face." A thoughtful look crossed her face for a moment. "Your talk about plans reminded me that I need to contact the media."

"Media?" Shego asked, a look of confusion on her face as Kim jumped up from her seat and rushed to the communications equipment sitting against one wall. She watched several screens come to life as Kim typed on the keyboard. The screens displayed a satellite view of a large group working in front of a cliff face in the middle of the desert. Another showed the same scene from high on the cliff face, allowing the group to be identified as Global Justice agents using heavy equipment to force open a set of hidden doors. Shego glanced at the third screen, which showed the ruined equipment they had left in the ravine during their escape, as she realized all of the screens displayed the area around the prison. After several minutes of typing, Kim sat back with an evil grin on her face.

"What did you do and how did you get these videos?" Shego demanded, gesturing at the screens.

"I e-mailed links to all the feeds to most of the major media outlets as well as a list of questions about what they would see. Things like, what is Global Justice doing in the middle of the desert?, why are they breaking into this facility?, whose facility is it?, is the wreckage the remains of a Global Justice team that was ambushed? You know, things like that. Hopefully they will follow-up and give old Betty a huge PR headache."

Shego looked at the smile on Kim's face as she thought about what was likely to happen if the news showed up at the prison asking questions. The smooth way Kim had answered the easy question but left the hard one unanswered impressed her. She debated letting Kim get away with it for a moment until she decided she needed more information before she was willing to join in Kim's little crusade.

"That's cruel. You know Betty will go nuts once the press shows up. She is supposed to be running a secret agency not making the 6 o'clock news. But you didn't tell me how you got the videos in the first place."

"The satellite feed is French, they sell access to anyone with cash. The others are from cameras I set in the area, that use narrow band satellite connections that should be undetectable to casual scans. My original plan was to make a video of the escape and send it to the media. Once it became evident that GJ would have to break into their own prison, I though it would be a better idea to use the raw feeds to get the media's attention."

Shego nodded in acceptance and then froze as a thought occurred to her. "If you were going to make a video of the escape, does that mean you had cameras with you the whole time, that you filmed me during the escape."

Kim smirked at her, "Doy, of course I did. Don't worry, I would have edited out anything that was too embarrassing, although I think including the scenes of you changing would have really boosted the sales."

Shego stared at her, shock written plainly on her face. "You – you . . . I."

Kim collapsed to the floor laughing, unable to control her self. Shego stood watching her for several minute, a frown on her face, before she returned to her seat, a slight smile forming on her face as she realized the humor of the situation. Eventually, Kim's laughter stopped and she climbed back into her seat wiping tears from her eyes.

"I'm sorry sweetie, I just couldn't resist. Will you forgive me?"

Shego wanted to stay mad with Kim but couldn't. She was willing to bet that Kim had missed the easy camaraderie and joking between friends as much as she did. She grinned at Kim and replied. "Ha ha, Kimmie. I'll forgive you on the condition you tell me what your plan is. Just what are you going to do to Global Justice?"

"Just what I told Betty. I plan on exposing their secrets and mistakes. The whole escape was the first step in that plan. It would expose their top secret escape-proof prison, show that it wasn't escape-proof at all and rub in the fact I could get all that equipment and put it in place without them detecting it."

"So, I was just a convenient excuse for the first step of you plan. I though you cared for me, princess." Shego's tone was light and joking but her eyes betrayed a sense of hurt and betrayal.

When Kim saw the look Shego gave her, her manner turned serious. "Shego, I don't want there to be any misunderstanding between us. You are one of the few friends I have left in the world and I care for you very much, but I don't love you. I want you at my side for this, you have as much reason to hate GJ as I do, but I don't want your help if the only reason you are here is your feelings for me. "

Shego opened her mouth to make a smart answer but swiftly closed it as she realized that Kim was serious and so was the issue she raised. She dropped her eye and sat thinking for several minutes. She raised her eyes to meet Kim's and answered her. "You're right, I need to admit that I don't love you. I've been harping on you not loving me but refused to look at my own feelings. I needed the idea that I loved you and had done the noble thing in giving you up in order to survive being in prison. Now that I am free, I need to be honest with myself and with you. I care for you, Kim, but just as a friend. I – I think I loved you once but now, I'm not sure."

Shego stopped speaking. a look of confusion her face. Kim reached over and squeezed her shoulder, giving her an encouraging smile when she meets her gaze. "It's OK, you don't have to figure everything out all at once. Just so long we are honest with each other."

Shego reached up and placed her hand on Kim's, giving it a reassuring squeeze in return. "Then I'm in. It's about time someone took Betty down a notch. So what's the plan?"

"The first item is to get you back in shape," Kim held her hand up to stop Shego's protest, "We both know that no matter how much you worked out in your cell, you still will have lost your edge without a challenge to push you. I need you to get that back in the next two months."

"Two months?" Shego inquire, accepting the need for her to regain her edge first.

"Yep. That is when the Middleton Space Center will be launching a satellite that we will need to stop."

"OK. I'll bite, why do we want to stop this satellite in particular."

"Because, while it is allegedly designed to monitor weather and land use pattern, its real purpose is to provide real time, high-definition surveillance of the countryside and border."

Shego shook her head. "Enough with the games, cupcake. What's the real deal?"

Kim pouted briefly before continuing. "The satellite was supposedly funded and authorized through a UN program to help third world countries. It was approved for humanitarian use only. The real funding came from Global Justice as part of their counter-terrorism program. The country in question is the Democratic Republic of Plantain."

Shego grinned back at her as she teased. "Do I detect a hint of malice towards the lovely country of Plantain? According to the tourist brochures, they are a tropical paradise filled with happy locals."

Kim made a wry face. "Yea, sure. You and I know the truth about that place. Exposing them and Global Justice's support will be the first step."

"What about acting at the Space Center? Isn't that where you dad works? Won't that bother you?" Shego asking, hoping that Kim had worked out some way to avoid hurting her father or damaging his career.

"Don't worry, he has nothing to do with this launch, it is part of a program that allows grad students to help build and launch a satellite in order to give them real world experience. None of them should have their reputations damaged for not being able to stop a super-villain attack."

Shego saw the devious look on Kim's eye and wondered what she wasn't telling her. "And?"

Kim tried to look innocent for a moment but, when she saw that Shego was not believing it, she huffed and answered. "All right, the grad students in question are my brothers. This will be payback for all the jokes and teasing they gave me growing up, particularly after I returned."

Shego merely nodded and said, "Check, teaching your brothers a lesson.", before she continued. "And after that? Whats the next step?"

Kim leaned back in her seat before replying. "After that will partly depend on what GJ does. If nothing changes, the next step is to hijack an arms shipment from GJ to one of the Triads via some corrupt officials in the local government. Done correctly we can embarrass the local government, GJ and GJ's sponsors including the UN."

Shego grinned at her. "Sounds good. Now where did you say the bathroom was? I hope there's a tub in there. I have had to do with 60 second showers for the last three years so I would really like a nice long soak but I'll settle for a nice long hot shower if I have too."

~O~O~O~

**A/N – **This ends part one. The second part will cover what is happening with Global Justice as well as more back story and the start of the main plot.


	3. The Pursuit of Truth and Justice: part 2

**The Pursuit of Truth and Justice (part 2)**

**Disclaimer – **I don't own Kim Possible.

**A/N – **This part will cover what is happening with Global Justice as well as more back story and the start of the main plot.

UPDATED VERSION—no major changes just minor spelling and grammar corrections.

Chapter 3 – The Pursuit of Truth and Justice (part 2)

The halls of Global Justice's world headquarters normally bustled with activity, even during normal time. With the first ever escape from Global Justice's Super-Max Prison for Extraordinary Threats, it had become a veritably beehive of activity with agents rushing around to help get the prison fully operational again or helping in tracking the escapee. Even those agents who weren't working on the escape or its aftermath made certain to appear busy in case they caught the eye of the head of Global Justice, Dr. Director. Ever since news of the prison break had reached her, Dr. Director had been on a rampage, with no error or mistake overlooked and the punishments meted out, harsh and unforgiving.

In the command center of the headquarters, the staff was glad that Dr. Director was closeted in her office but also dreaded the time when she would inevitably sally forth and ruin the day of all those who crossed her path. As the people she would see first, they bore the greatest risk of becoming her next victim, a dubious honor they were rapidly deciding was not compensated for by their increased rank and pay. Most breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Agent Du headed toward Dr. Director's office with Ivan P. Freely, a large heavyset man who was the head of Global Justice's Prison and Incarceration Division, as well as M. Elizabeth (Bess) Alar, a slim women in horn rim glasses who was the Head of the Construction and Maintenance Division. The staff struggled to hide their smirks as they saw the three being asked to wait by Dr. Director's secretary, something experience had taught them was always sign that did not bode well for those who had been summoned.

In her office Dr. Director sat behind her desk and composed herself for the coming interview. If it went as planned, she would have the leverage she needed to remove most of the pressure for 'action' that was coming from the UN Committee for Oversight of Law Activities. Once she dealt with them, she could try to limit the damage the prison break had caused and focus on getting Global Justice back in shape for the trouble she knew was coming. That was the part about this situation that galled her the most, Kim had warned her four months ago that something like this would happen and they had still been caught unprepared. She pushed that thought from her mind for now and, reaching over to the intercom, signaled for her secretary to send in agent Du and the two Division heads.

Dr. Director's face was set in a stern mask as agent Du escorted the two division heads into her office. He was glad that this time her ire would be directed at someone else but knew that eventually he would resume his place as chief whipping boy. Once the division heads had take their seats, Dr. Director signaled Du to take up station standing next to the door. She let them sweat for several moments before she activated the viewscreen set in the wall next to her desk and called their attention to it. She started with the head of Global Justice's Prison and Incarceration Division.

"How is it that in all of the testing and analysis that was done on the prison, you never considered what would happen if power was lost to the facility? Why were none of the systems that were designed to protect against power spikes effective? Why was so much construction equipment stored in the prisoner level, making the escape that much easier?" She demanded while calling up graphics that highlighted each of the vulnerabilities in turn.

Freely cleared his throat several time, as he stalled for time trying to formulate his answer, before speaking. "We assumed that if power was cut, leaving the cells locked would prevent an escape. We never looked at someone using the construction equipment that was left behind to open the cells since the original plans called for all of it to be remove as work progressed."

Dr. Director waited a moment before nodding at him, accepting his explanation for now. "What about protection from power spikes?"

Freely nodded back, relief at the acceptance of his first explanation evident on his face, before he continued. "According to the plans of the facility, every section was supposed to have its own isolation transformer as well as surge protection at every station. Construction records show it was installed and tested before the prison opened. We never tested the system due to the danger if the systems failed. Besides, the power system was supposed to be isolated from the grid, with two transformer substations, one above ground and one in the prison itself. Each station was supposed to be able to handle any power surges, even if the other station failed."

"Why weren't the power substations checked? That should have been part of the regular security review procedures." Dr. Director demanded.

Freely had anticipated this question and answered immediately. "Both the second substation and the custom switching equipment were located off site for additional security. We didn't have access to verify either its existence or its proper functioning. All of that was handled by the Construction and Maintenance Division. The original construction paperwork shows the equipment was install and tested. Maintenance report indicate it was tested and maintained according to regulation."

Once again, Dr. Director nodded to indicate her temporary acceptance of his explanation before pushing ahead. "And the construction equipment that was scattered about the prison?"

Freely, his confidence rapidly increasing with Dr. Director's approval of his answers, continued confidently. "Originally the equipment was supposed to be moved around and used in multiple parts of the prison but there were a series of problems where areas would be complete and then it would be discovered that the equipment couldn't be removed. We reported these incidents to the Construction Division but were told simply to buy new equipment and continue construction. The paper work we received authorizing this had been approved by the Construction Division and the Oversight Committee so we had no choice but to proceed as instructed."

"Did you consider the security risks this equipment represented?"

"The paperwork from the Oversight Committee included a security evaluation that stated the equipment did not pose a security risk and ordered us to ignore it."

Dr. Director nodded and picked up a file which she passed to him. "Very well. This file contains a detailed plan for a complete security evaluation and overhaul. I want you to look it over as see if you can find any flaws. I also want a complete inventory of the prison and all of its equipment, both on and off site. We need to find out if anything else was omitted from the plans beside the surge protection and substation. You may leave."

Freely took the file as he rose from his seat, a faint look of relief on his face at having avoided Dr. Director's ire. He rapidly made his way from the office into the command center, where people stared covertly at his sweat and moisture stained uniform as he hurried out, headed to his office. They watched his retreat, knowing from experience that he must have survived Dr. Director's inquisition intact except for this dignity and nerves.

Once the door closed behind Freely, Dr. Director slowly turned and fixed her eye on the remaining division head. She didn't say a word but simply stared at her, watching for her reaction. The entire meeting so far had been designed to put her in the proper frame of mind for the coming questions. At first she sat still and silent but soon started to shift in her seat and avoid Dr. Director gaze. Dr. Director's face didn't betray any reaction but inwardly she smiled, knowing that Ms. Alar was now in the proper frame of mind to be interrogated.

"Now Ms. Alar, would you care to explain how your records show the installation and testing of isolation transformers and circuit breakers through out the prison complex but no such equipment is there?" Dr. Director asked, a predatory grin forming on her face.

Alar's face held look of confidence as she answered. "The contractor who was responsible for the installation provided certificates that everything had been installed and tested according to the contract specifications."

"The electrical equipment was installed by the company of Dewey and Sons. Is that correct?"

Alar looked slightly puzzled at Dr. Director lack of aggression in questioning her, but answered promptly. "That is correct, they were the prime contractor for interior electrical system."

Dr. Director made note of her answer before continuing. "Why was the construction equipment left in the prisoner area? Who authorized the construction changes?"

Alar paused for a moment, trying to figure out what Dr. Director was looking for, before she replied. "The prime contractor said that the designs were flawed and therefore they were unable to remove the heavy construction equipment. They obtained authorization from the Oversight Committee to leave the equipment in each section as it was completed and use new equipment for the next section."

"The prime contractor was the Chetum Engineering and Construction Company, is that correct?"

Once again Alar was puzzled by Dr. Director's behavior. "That is correct. The Chetum Engineering and Construction company was the prime contractor for all of the initial excavation and building of the prison."

Dr. Director nodded as she noted down her answer. "Why was there only one transformer substation. The design called for two separate installations with special switching equipment to prevent the transmission of any power spike or surge into the rest of the facility. The record show that a second installation was completed and payed for as well as the special switching equipment but there is no evidence it ever existed. Would you care to explain?"

Alar glared at her in annoyance before answering. "The prime contractor, Howe & Associates, provided paperwork and invoices showing that both installations were made. One in the prison and another in an off site location approximately half a mile from the prison. The had detailed schematic and invoice for the special switching equipment and well as work orders showing it had been installed."

Dr. Director nodded again and smiled at her.

Alar was tired of playing a game she didn't understand, so she decided to confront the issue head on. "What is the purpose of this meeting? Why am I here? So far every question you have asked could have been answered by looking at my files."

Dr. Director favored her with a brief grin before answering. "I merely wanted to confirm what the paper work said with you. Each of the companies you have named is connected to one of the members of the Oversight Committee. This information about their corruption will give me the leverage I need to get them off my back."

She watched Alar relax, thinking she was not the target of Dr. Director's ire before continuing. "I also want to ask you about why you approved the paperwork they gave you. Protocol requires you to use independent confirmation of security related issues but you did not follow protocol. Why?"

Alar gulped, realizing that Dr. Director had been using her for her own purposes before moving in for the kill. "The Oversight Committee authorized the changes in the construction that resulted in the construction equipment being left behind. I had no option but to follow the orders I was given."

"It didn't seen strange to you that the Oversight Committee authorized these changes and all the extra expense even though it was the result of changes made by the contractor in the first place. The original plans had been designed to allow the construction equipment to be removed as each section was completed. It was because of design changes made by the contractor, with your approval, that the equipment couldn't be removed. Why were the changes approved without an expense or security assessment being made?"

Alar looked lost as she realized that Dr. Director had her cornered. "I – I though something was wrong but I didn't want to risk opposing the Oversight Committee. I know I should have reported to you but I was afraid the Oversight Committee would retaliate."

Dr. Director pressed on relentlessly. "It was my job to deal with the Oversight Committee not yours. It was still you job to make the assessments no matter what the Oversight Committee said. That should have been done before any changes were sent to the committee for approval."

Alar, knowing her career was over and desperately trying to avoid criminal charges, meekly replied. "I was told that the construction was running over budget and these changes would help to contain costs. I didn't want this project to run out of money and become an expensive failure so I approved the requested changes. I also omitted the independent verification to save money."

Dr. Director shook her head in disgust. "Still lying to me, I see. You still approved payments for the independent verification as well as on going payments for the substation and switching equipment that was never installed. We know you are dating one of the staffers on the Oversight Committee whose uncle owns the company that was payed to conduct the verifications and maintenance. We have bank records showing you receiving payments from him as well as other payments from several of the other companies involved. Effective immediately you are relieved of duty and placed under arrest."

At Dr. Director's gesture, agent Du cuffed the now crying Alar's hands behind her back. Opening the door he motioned for two agents who were waiting to take agent Alar into custody and escort her to a holding cell. Once they were alone again, Du closed the door and moved to stand in front of Dr. Director's desk. He waited for a moment before speaking.

"I guess we now know how Possible was able to break Shego out of prison."

Dr. Director cut him off before he could continue. "This had nothing to do with the prison break. Kim would have freed Shego even if every security feature in the prison had worked like it was supposed to. She had the equipment to overcome every obstacle with a minimum of effort. No, the problems with the prison are just one more embarrassment she will use to ruin our reputation."

Du had a disdainful look on his face as her replied. "I think you are over estimating Possible, as always. She got lucky in finding a place with holes to exploit, if we had known she was coming, we would have easily caught her."

Dr. Director shook her head. "No. She had enough equipment to overcome the prison's defense as designed. We found remains of EMP grenades to take out any electronic equipment she encountered as well as an industrial diamond tipped saw that would have been able to get through the door to Shego's cell. She used are own maneuvers two weeks ago to move her equipment into place. You have missed the whole point of Kim's actions. She is sending us a message. She is coming for us and nothing we do can stop her."

Du looked troubled. "I don't think things are that bad. This time she relied on a vast amount of equipment to succeed. If she is relying on gadgets rather than skill then we will be able to catch her easily."

"You still don't get it do you. She didn't need the equipment to succeed, she used all of the equipment this time to show that she could get anything she needed without our knowledge and move it to one of our most secure location without detection. Consider these questions, how did she know the location of the prison, how did she know about the defenses, how did she know what cell Shego was in."

Du said nothing, but his face showed his worry as he pondered her questions.

"All of this was a message to us from Kim. You read the report of my meeting with her. She is telling us she can still do anything. She warned us she would be moving against us and even told us she would be coming for Shego and we couldn't even slow her down."

As Du pondered this, Dr. Director moved on to the next part of the agenda. "Speaking of her meeting with me. What have you found out about the conditions of Kim's probation? The idea was to isolate her temporarily and then be there to help fix things, not to break her or drive her to becoming a villain."

Du stood at attention as he delivered his report. "The restrictions on travel and who she could associate with were standard procedure. Due to her abilities and history, she was classified as high risk and therefore subject to extra scrutiny."

Dr. Director's one good eye seemed to bore a hole through him as she asked. "Global Justice was supposed to have final say concerning her probation, they were merely acting as our agents, so how was it that we didn't approve her request to leave the area to attend college? Once she was away from home and in a new environment, we would have had an easy time moving in and recruiting her."

Du betrayed no emotion as he answered although inwardly he cringed, knowing he was once again serving as Dr. Director's whipping boy. "The probation agent in charge never forwarded any of her requests to Global Justice for review. He simply made the decision himself."

"I see. I take it you have brought him in for questioning."

"No ma'am. He is no longer available. A year ago he quit his job and moved out of the country."

Dr. Director's voice dripped with scorn. "We are GLOBAL Justice, our sphere of action is the entire world. Did he leave the planet? Why didn't you fetch him from wherever he hiding is to be questioned?"

Do struggled to maintain his stoic exterior but the faint shiver that ran through his body betrayed his nervousness. "After he quit his job he moved to the Democratic Republic of Plantain, where he is employed as a security specialist by the government. They have refused to make him available for questioning."

Dr. Director shook he head. "Plantain, again. They were the cause of this whole mess in the first place. Very well, I don't care what they say, I want him here for questioning within two days. If they argue, issue a Global Warrant for his arrest and detention. Is that understood?"

"Yes, ma'am." Du replied curtly, stunned at her orders. A Global Warrant was good in any country in the world and authorized any law enforcement officer to act as a temporary agent of Global Justice, with all the normal powers and immunities, in apprehending the wanted person. In all his years at Global Justice he seen them used less than a dozen times.

Seeing the confusion on Du face, Dr. Director explained. "For the last six or seven years, we have had to deal with increasing government interference in our operations. Every two bit dictator and tin-plated president-for-life feels they can push us around. Now that I have the leverage to keep the Oversight Committee off our backs, I intend to let the world now we are through playing their political games. We are going to make Global Justice a force for global justice again."

Du stood slightly straighter, if that was possible, in admiration of Dr. Director's drive and determination, as she continued. "What was the deal with her not being able to see her parents? That was never a condition of her probation."

Du answered promptly, glad that, for once, he could shift the blame elsewhere. "Apparently several US agencies, including the ATF, the DEA and the CIA felt that she was a security risk, so they made any contact with her grounds for loss of security clearance or government contract. Both of her parent's places of work were contacted directly and informed of this condition. In addition, agents were sent out every few months to check that the condition was being met."

Dr. Director nodded curtly to him. "Stupid three letter wannabes. They want to play games then we will play games. Down grade the ATF and DEA from limited to need-to-know access only. Drop the CIA from full to limited access."

Du nodded in return, knowing Dr. Director meant business if she was willing to cut major intelligence and law enforcement agencies access to their resources. "What reason should we give if they inquire as to the reason for the downgrade?"

Dr. Director paused for a moment before giving him an evil grin, reminiscent of Shego. "Tell them they were judged an increased security risk due to association with criminal elements. If they ask what criminal elements, send them a copy of the Geneva conventions and the UN Human Rights Accords and tell them to pick."

"And send them copies of the reports from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch on conditions in the Democratic Republic of Plantain, too." Dr. Director added a moment later.

"Yes, ma'am." Du replied.

Dr. Director turned to the last item on the agenda, the one that was the biggest headache but, with luck and a little finesse, also the one that could be turned to her advantage. "What is the media situation?"

Du hesitated before answering. "They don't seem to be believing the cover story we gave about a tactical training exercise. We have managed to locate and remove the video feeds Possible installed but the French are refusing to shut down their satellite feed. Contacts in the various media organizations report that an anonymous source keeps feeding them questions and information that undermine our explanations."

"The Analysis division says that if the situation is not contained within 48 hours it will continue to increase in seriousness, with a 24% chance of Global Justice losing it charter, a 54% chance of enhanced oversight and a 24% chance we would emerge unscathed but out effectiveness would be severely curtailed for six to eight months due the media's scrutiny."

Dr. Director pondered his report for a moment before answering. "I have a meeting with the Oversight Committee in an hour. I will 'suggest' they use their influence to curtail the media coverage before any more information that could damage Global Justice or our contractors is released."

Dr. Director started to arrange the file on her desk, signaling the end of the meeting. "I want the Analysis division to coordinate with Tactical and Security to identify probable targets for Possibles next attack. Have them consult with Psych as needed. That will be all."

As he turned to leave she had one final comment. "Don't think you are off the hook. You were in charge of monitoring Possible's probation and let your personal feelings about her influence your actions. You have a lot of work to do to make up for that."

~O~O~O~

**A/N – **This finishes the scenes setting and now the main plot can proceed. Things to come include plots by and against GJ, the appearance of several missing characters (including Ron), and more on Kim and Shego's relationship.


	4. Countdown

**Countdown**

**Disclaimer – **I don't own Kim Possible.

**A/N – **Thanks to everyone who reads and reviews. Special thanks to the anonymous reviewer, I am sorry I accidentally delete your second review. He pointed out the large number of spelling and grammatical error. Apparently, I got lazy and was letting my word processor (which had a specialized add-on designed for proofreading that I obtained in grad school) handle most of the work. When my hard drive crashed recently I had to switch to a different program and its spelling and grammar checker sucks (it can't spot doubled words or multiple articles and claims the letter s is a valid word). Now that I am aware of this, I have started going over everything with a fine tooth comb. I have gone over the previous chapters to fix spelling error, extra articles, verb tense, etc. and posted the correct versions.

It looks like my muse is still working overtime. This chapter ran long and had to be split into two parts. It looks like this story is going to be much longer than planned with much more detail and character development. Some of the reviewers have noted the word games and puns in the story. I happen to love these (I think it is part of my training as an Engineer) and have put quite a few in the story. To find them, look for names in the KP tradition (like Kim's family where they all sound like impossible, Monty Fisk/Monkey Fist and Camille Leon) and acronyms.

Chapter 4 – Countdown

Shego wearily made her way to her quarters, her hair hanging limp, exhausted from the workout she had just finished under Kim's direction. As she stripped her clothes off and stepped into the shower to wash off the sweat and grime before soaking in the hot tub, she reflected on just how much of a slave driver Kim had been over the last six weeks. When Kim had said she needed to regain her edge, she had imagined some training, a bit of sparring and maybe few small crimes to get back in the swing of things. Instead, she had gotten eight hours a day of hard, sweaty work with Kim watching every step and pushing her if she slowed down.

Shego stepped from the shower and decided against a swimsuit, since the hot tub was in her suite and she was alone. If Kim barged in on her nude, that would be Kim's problem, not hers. She hated to admit it but Kim had been right, she had lost her edge. Her skills were only a little rusty and had been back to her old level in two weeks. It had been her mind that needed work. After sitting in that cell for three years, she had lost her drive and motivation. Kim's constant harping on her need to do better; as well as her repeated demonstrations of superiority had lit a fire in Shego. By making herself the target for Shego's hatred, she had helped restored Shego's drive and fighting spirit.

Climbing into the hot tub, Shego was thankful they were hiding out in a place with all the amenities. She had half expected to be staying in some abandoned villain's hideout or even a time-share lair but, once again, Kim had surprised her. After staying in the Dessert Fox's old lair for two days, Kim had led her down a hidden tunnel that surfaced in a garage containing a beat-up and mud caked Jeep. They climbed in and, once Kim started the engine, Shego's experienced ear told her the engine was in perfect condition even if the exterior was beaten and weathered. They had driven west for two day until they stopped in front of a gate, closed with a padlock, bearing a large no trespassing sign. Kim had gotten out, used a key to open the gate, and driven them through. Locking the gate behind them, she had driven down a dirt track that led to a blank stone wall. Kim had pulled a small device from her pack and pressed a button, causing a section of the wall to rise, revealing a large garage.

Once Kim had parked the Jeep inside, the wall returned to its original place. Climbing out of the Jeep, Kim had led her into an elevator against the far wall. The car rose for several minutes before stopping and depositing them in short hallway. Kim had led her down the hallway and into a huge room with a stunning view of the nearby mountains. Shego had looked around in shock. The room's furnishings were expensive, if out of style, reminding her of a villain's lair from the old Sean Connery James Bond films. More hallways could be seen leading to several more rooms, including a kitchen and a gym, while a large spiral stairway lead to an upper level.

Kim had turned to her with a mischievous look in her eyes. "Do you think this will do?"

Shego took a moment to look the room over before answering. "OK, pumpkin, where are we and how did you get access to it?"

Kim had given a short laugh. "It's mine; I've had it for about four years."

Shego glared at her. "Enough with the cute, princess. How did you get this place? I expect Blofeld to come walking out, stroking a cat, anytime now."

Kim sat on one of the couches and motioned for Shego to sit next to her. "About five years ago, there was a wildfire in the forest to the east of the mountains there. Me and Ron spent two day helping to evacuate people and set firebreaks. While we were there, we ran into an old superhero called Condor. Ever hear of him?"

At Shego's shake of her head, Kim continued. "He was originally active from the early seventies through the late nineties. His primary focus was on the saving the environment and stopping pollution. When the wildfires hit, he came out of retirement to help fight them, which is how we ran into him. He was impressed that people who were so young were doing what we did and said he wanted to help. I didn't think anything of it until about a month later when I was informed that I now owned this place."

Shego felt a moments panic. "If they know you own this place, it will be the first place they look."

Kim cut her off. "Don't worry, no one other than Ron and Wade know about his place. Condor had a secret identity and set this place up to protect it. When he gave it to me, he kept those protections. The only thing anybody knows is that I sit on the board of a wildlife protection trust. The other members of the board are dummies, so I run the trust. Through several shell companies, the trust owns several hundred acres of land as a wildlife refuge. This base is on that land."

Shego had calmed somewhat as Kim detailed the precautions that had been take to hide her connection to the base. "What about the base itself, someone must know of its existence?"

"Nope. Robots he confiscated from a villain did all of the tunneling and basic construction. It was designed to be invisible from above and all of the windows are protected using a Computerized Axial Multilayer Overlay holographic system. The actual furnishings and contents were routed through over a dozen shell companies and smuggled into the base by Condor personally. It has hidden solar, wind and geothermal generators so we have no need for a connection to the power grid. Communication is handled via an encrypted satellite feed located on the far side of those mountains." Kim pointed out the window to the mountains in the distance.

"If nerdlinger and the buffoon know about his place, could they have told anyone?"

Kim shook her head in both negation and annoyance. "Neither WADE nor RON would tell anyone about his place. Ron was only here once, when I first got the place, and I doubt if he even remembers its existence, let alone its location. Wade helped me inspect and upgrade the equipment, so he knows the location and how to enter, but he won't tell anyone. Remember Wade was a hacker. When I tried to find out what happened to him after my probation was over, I couldn't find any information on him at all."

Shego turned thoughtful, a worried look growing on her face. "Could he have been taken into custody? He might have been forced to work for GJ or someone like that, in order to stay out of prison."

Kim had an amused look on her face. "No. You don't understand, when I said there was no information on him, I meant no information at all. There was no record of his birth, no school records, not even a record of his family. My guess is someone got too close and he ghosted himself."

Shego looked relieved at the news. "That's good to hear. Maybe he is out there causing headaches, too. So just how large is this place?"

Kim leaned back in thought for a moment. "In the garage level there is the garage, a mechanics bay and a complete machine shop. This level has this main room, a kitchen with separate dining room, full gym with dojo and target range, library and several general-purpose rooms. The upper level has six bedroom suites, each with its own bath; a sauna and massage room; and complete laundry facilities including dry cleaning. Oh, the two main suites we will be using have balconies, mini-kitchens and hot tubs, also. A little upgrade I had installed when I got the place."

Shego smiled as she considered the possibilities. "Nice to see you are learning to appreciate the finer things in life cupcake."

The chime of the intercom broke Shego from her reverie. She rose from the tub and put on a robe. Muttering threats, she stomped her way across the room to the intercom and stabbed the button.

"Kimmie, you better have a damn good reason for getting me out of the hot tub or I'll show you who lost their edge."

"Poor baby, I didn't know you had gotten so old and fragile." Kim laughed as Shego cussed her out. "Hurry down stairs. It turns out they have pushed up the time for the launch by a week, so we need to start planning now."

Shego grumbled as she hurriedly threw on some clothes and headed down the stairs. Her grumbling only increased when she reached the lower level and Kim was nowhere in sight. After fruitlessly looking for her, she called. "Princess, where are you? Get your skinny ass out here so I can whip it."

"Down here," said a voice that seemed to float up from behind the large planter next to the stairs. Investigating, Shego found a narrow set of stairs, whose strictly utilitarian design did not fit with the rest of the base. Following them down and around a left hand turn, she was soon staring into a large room, cluttered with computers and communication equipment. Some of the equipment was reasonably new while other pieces looked old enough to be in a museum but all of it appeared to be functioning.

"What is this place and why haven't I seen if before? Keeping secrets from me, cupcake?" Shego's voice sounded angry she strode across the room to confront Kim.

"I wanted to keep this place a secret in case you had been compromised by Global Justice. Now that you are back to your old self, I think it's safe to show you."

Angered at Kim's off-hand tone, Shego angrily demanded. "You weren't sure you could trust me? After everything we've been through, you still have doubts about me? I should leave right now and let you continue your little crusade against GJ by yourself."

Kim's reply was just as angry. "You're one to talk about trust. When we were in Plantain running from the death squad, who said they thought I was part of the plan to get her, even after I helped you evade the gunships? Who still hasn't told me her real name? Betty knew I was going to break you out, so it would've made sense for her to offer you a deal to watch me in exchange for your freedom. Would you rather I had trusted you implicitly, like I used to trust Global Justice?"

The two stared at each other, bodies tense, each waiting for the other to do or say something first. For several minutes, they stood facing each other, neither willing to be the first to back down, to show the other weakness. Almost imperceptibly, Shego's demeanor started to change, her body relaxed and her face softened. Seeing this, Kim's manner abruptly changed, her face becoming a mask of hurt and confusion, as she reached out and pulled Shego into a hug.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it. I – I'm just so used to everyone being against me and not being able to trust anyone. Please don't go. I need you, Shego. I need you so much."

Shego held Kim in her arms as she babbled on for several minute, an uncharacteristically gentle look on her face. Once Kim had finished, Shego led them to a couch and pulled her down next to her. Using her hand, she raised Kim's head and looked her in the eyes.

"It's OK, princess. I understand. It's just that for the past three years, the only human contact I had was various guards and interrogators whose only purpose was to get information out of me. They kept insisting that I was lying to them and trying to manipulate them. I reacted without thinking. Will you forgive me?"

"Forgive you? There is nothing to forgive. I'm the one who need forgiveness. I know your history, how neither your brothers nor law enforcement trusted you. I remember how GJ thought you might be a threat even before you became a villain. I promise I won't doubt you again."

Shego pulled Kim in for another hug, a smile on her face. The held each other for several minutes before Shego broke the embrace.

"Enough of the mushy stuff. You still haven't told me what all this equipment is for. Where did you get it? Some of it looks to be older the either of us."

Kim was glad Shego had brought them back to the business at hand and given them an excuse to ignore their feelings for a while. "The equipment is older than me, though I don't know about you." Kim gave a short laugh as Shego stuck out her tongue at her. "It was part of the original equipment that Condor installed. The newer stuff is modern equipment Wade and I installed."

"Why keep the older stuff? Wouldn't modern equipment be faster and more reliable?"

Kim gave a sly grin at Shego's question. "Normally you would be right but the older equipment can't be replaced. Condor was an agent for the Autonomous United Nations Tribunal."

"The what?" Shego interrupted, a baffled look on her face.

"The Autonomous United Nation Tribunal, they were one of the predecessors to Global Justice, formed in the early seventies to deal with the rising tide of terrorism as well as the new, more dangerous bread of super-villains. It was composed of a number of superheroes, as well as a variety of law enforcement and intelligence operatives. The idea was they would be given a free hand to stop threats without any of the political or jurisdictional disputes that had hampered previous efforts."

Shego frowned in thought for a moment before asking. "What happened? Weren't they effective enough?"

Kim gave a bitter laugh. "They were both too effective and not effective enough. A number of the superheroes used their authority to interfere with several oppressive governments. They also exposed corruption at the highest levels in a number of countries. In the other direction, you had some of the law enforcement and intelligence operatives using their authority to protect corrupt and repressive regimes. Obviously, the two groups came into conflict, which even resulted in open fighting on several occasions."

Shego nodded and gestured to the equipment. "That's all well and good but what does this have to do with why you still have this equipment."

Kim smirked and activated several of the terminals. "When the tribunal was shut down its assets were taken over by Global Justice and those members who hadn't been involved in the problems were asked to join. Condor was one of those."

Shego stared in disbelief at her terminals, which were now displaying status updates on current operations for Global Justice. "What?! Are you telling me that you have access to GJ's system?"

Kim laughed at Shego's obvious surprise. "Not all of the system. Condor is listed as inactive, not retired, so I have access to the system but that access is limited to non-sensitive data. It told me that the prison you were in existed and gave a general overview but I couldn't find out its location or exact details of construction or layout."

Shego started to laugh as she realized the possibilities of the situation. While they wouldn't know everything GJ's was doing, they would have enough information to give them a huge advantage. "Do you think you could hack further into the system? It sure would be nice to know all of Betty's secrets."

Kim mood suddenly changed, a hurt and contrite look coming over her face. "No, I always had Wade to do that. I know he used the system several times to get classified data but I don't have any idea how he did it. I should have been paying more attention to what he did so I could do it if I ever needed to."

Shego clasped Kim's hands in hers as she cut off her self-deprecating tirade. "That's enough, pumpkin, there is no need to beat yourself up over it. You had Wade to take care of these kinds of things so you could focus on other things like master nineteen forms of martial arts. Just because you can do anything doesn't mean you have to do anything."

Kim nodded and took several deep breaths to center herself. "Your right. Let's get back to the business at hand."

Kim turned back to the terminal and started typing. Soon the displays changed to show an update of the Middleton Space Center's launch schedule as well as the updated security assignments for the launch. "As you can see they must have found an earlier launch window which allowed them to move the launch date up by a week. We are going to have to move fast if we want to stop the launch and expose just what kind of satellite they are really launching."

Shego studied the monitors for a moment before pointing at an item. "Looks like we got lucky. Good old by the book Du is in charge of security. While that means they won't make any mistakes it also means they won't do anything that's not in the manual. We should know where every agent will be stationed and how they will react when we hit the place."

Kim nodded and pointed to another item. "It also seems the change in date means they will not have time to finish upgrading the security measures in the Center. If the system is only half functional, we should be able to exploit that to hide our presence and send false alarms to divert them."

Shego grinned. "This will be like taking candy from a baby."

~O~O~O~

Witnesses and staff members were filing out of the room where the United Nations Committee for Oversight of Law Activities had just finished its weekly meeting when the committee's official secretary, a short man with glasses and a comb over, spoke. "Please put the room in secure mode when everyone has left. The committee has classified business to attend."

The committee members exchanged covert glances as one of the staffers grunted their acknowledgment of the order and waited until everyone had exited before closing the door and activating the secure mode protocols. The room was now shielded from any form of electronic transmission; a low level EM filled the room, disrupting any electronic equipment and all entry point were secured.

The secretary regarded the committee with a pinched look on his face for a moment before addressing them, his voice now low, melodic instead of high, nasal. "Gentlemen, I want an update on the situation with Possible and Shego. Now."

The committee shuffled uneasily in their chairs as they realized who they were facing. Finally, the Chairman answered. "Global Justice is on high alert. They have identified several probable targets based on Possible's personality and have units on station near by to deal with them should they appear. A number of intelligence agencies worldwide are actively searching for them. The System for Networking, Interfacing and Tabulating Criminals Hidden Secrets is being used to check for any contact by either Possible or Shego with the normal villain community. Hench Co.'s accounts are being monitored as well as Evil-Bay and the In-terror-net."

The secretary was expressionless as he replied. "Very good. What about the situation with Global Justice? Ever since the prison break, they have been ignoring any form of political control."

The committee sat in tense silence for a moment before the secretary spoke again. "This wouldn't have anything to do with Director uncovering your little kickback schemes would it?" A cold reptilian smile flashed briefly on his face before the emotionless mask returned. "Did you think I wouldn't know? I told you when you started that I would know everything you did. I also warned you about getting greedy. This is a long term operation not a quick smash and grab."

The committee sat in silence as the secretary sat with his eyes closed, deep in though, none of the willing to risk his ire by interrupting. Finally, the secretary's eyes snapped open and he favored the committee with another cold humorless grin. "I believe I can turn this situation to my advantage. If you let Global Justice chase after Possible and Shego while Global Justice is also involved in disputes with you as well several intelligence agencies they will all be too busy too notice my real plan. I want you to continue to try to rein in Dr. Director as well as using back channels to encourage the intelligence agencies and other groups to oppose her."

No one on the committee replied, afraid of drawing his attention. While they were relieved that they were still part of his plan, they also noticed that he had not informed them of the rest of his plan. A sick feeling washed over them with the realization that, to him, they were simply pawns to be used in a greater game they could not understand. They were some of the most powerful men in the world, accustomed to manipulating others for their own ends, and it galled them to be treated in like fashion.

"What about the situation with the Democratic Republic of Plantain? They need to be controlled before they disrupt anymore of my plans."

"They – they refuse to listen to outside advice. They believe that the support of the US covert agencies gives them enough power to ignore us." The chairman glanced at the secretary to see his reaction after he spilled a glass of water across the table when he attempted to pick it up.

The secretary simply gave him a cold lifeless stare. "Have the head of the resistance prepared to take power. I will be reminding The Beloved Democratically Elected President For Life about the 'for life' part of his title."

"The – the resistance? But the CIA is backing the Military, surely they will . . . ." The committee member stopped as the secretary fixed his gaze on him. "Yes, sir. We will make sure the resistance leader is ready to take power."

The secretary rose from his seat and moved to the door where he input the code, known only to committee members, to end secure mode and unlock the door. "I will contact you if I have any new orders. Do not fail me."

With those words, the secretary slipped from the room and immediately was lost in the crowd in the hallway outside. The committee rose from their chairs and left the room slowly, lost in contemplation of both their new status and their orders.

~O~O~O~

Will Du stood ramrod straight in front of Dr. Director's desk as she reviewed his security plan for the upcoming satellite launch at the Middleton Space Center. Given the locations association with Kim Possible and the involvement of both Global Justice and the Democratic Republic of Plantain in the launch, it had been identified as a prime target for attack. While the rest of Global Justice, and most of the other agencies interested, had though Possible and Shego would strike immediately, Dr. Director believed they would wait and pick their target with care. While everyone else scrambled to find them, D. Director had her staff determining the most likely places they would strike and setting traps for them should they appear.

Finishing her review of the plan, Dr. Director slipped it back into its folder and handed it to agent Du. "Very though. I see you reviewed all of Kim's missions and Shego's crimes to determine the most likely routes of entry and have arranged to set your sensors for the Surveillance Network for Optimum Observation and Pacification to cover them. Good. Are your two teams ready?"

Du stood slightly straighter at the unaccustomed praise. "The first team has been briefed for a standard security mission. They will be placed in the regulation locations and have been given orders to follow standard protocols. They are not aware of the second team in order to prevent any leaks. The second team will cover all of the likely entry routes we have identified that are not covered by team one as well as providing back-up if needed."

"Good. Prepare both teams to deploy immediately. I want them in place by noon tomorrow. I expect Possible to strike sometime before the launch in order to gain access to the satellite and expose its true nature. Remember she wants to embarrass us most of all. If necessary, destroy the satellite rather than have its secret revealed." She waved her hand in dismissal and then waited for the door to close behind him before activating a secure channel on her computer.

"The two primary teams have been dispatched and will be in place by noon tomorrow. I am sending you the security plans. Review them and place your team to plug any holes you find. I want your team on site by 6PM." Dr. Director typed briefly on her computer as she spoke; sending the plans via encrypted e-mail.

"Yes, ma'am. How did my brother do in setting up his plan? You know he tends to be a little, unimaginative, shall we say." Ken Du, Will's older brother, smiled as he opened the e-mail and began reviewing the plans.

Dr. Director sighed. She had hoped Ken had matured but from his attitude, it seems he had not. The sibling rivalry between Ken and Will had grown tiresome years ago, with each brother striving to out perform the other. Neither seemed to realize that they were almost opposites, with vastly different talents that made direct head to head comparisons almost impossible. Will was very analytical and precise, following the rules to the letter, which made him the perfect agent for standard operations where the regulations and protocols worked best. Ken was more intuitive and creative, inclined to think out of the box and try wild ideas, which made him the perfect agent for covert operations.

"Will's plan is actually very good. He is using a layered approach designed to exploit what we know about Possible and Shego. He even designed it to exploit how they would expect him to handle the situation in case they discovered his assignment." Dr. Director smiled inwardly at Ken's annoyed grunt.

"I guess little brother did OK. This time. I will have my team in place on schedule." Without ceremony, he ended the connection.

~O~O~O~

**A/N** – A quick note. I got the name but not the personality of Ken Du from StarvingLunatic's Pariah story.


	5. Ignition

**Ignition**

**Disclaimer – **I don't own Kim Possible.

**A/N – **Thanks to everyone who read the story and to all those who have followed, reviewed or favorited the story as well. Sorry this took longer than expected to post but (like all the other chapters) it ran long. I struggled to rewrite it because I tried using a slightly different style for the action scenes. Please let me know what you think. Note that ~O~O~O~ indicates major shift in time and place, while *_*_* indicates small shifts in time or place.

I am looking for a beta reader to help with spelling and grammar. If anyone is interested, please contact me.

REPOSTED - FFn wouldn't take *_*_* as a scene break (although it looked alright when I first posted) so they have been replaced with ~o~o~.

Chapter 5 – Ignition

Will Du was making his regular, half-hourly rounds to personally check each of the five two man security points his Alpha team had set up. Four teams were guarding the four main entrances to the Middleton Space Center, with the fifth team stationed on the roof to provide overall surveillance and back up if needed. At each station, he would check that all proper precautions were being taken and all protocols followed. The round never varied, first he would check team 1 at the front entrance, next would be team 2 at the side entrance, followed by teams 3 & 4 at the two rear entrances. From there, he would climb an exterior service ladder and check team 5 on the roof. He would then return to his command station via an interior service ladder.

The entire exercise was designed as an artful piece of misdirection. With Will adhering to a rigid schedule it would reinforce his image as a by the book, unimaginative plodder to anyone who was observing him. No one would expect there to be anything more to the routine, since Will was in sight of any observer for fifteen minutes out of every half hour and spent the rest of his time at the main security station for the Center. The only time he was not under observation was during his climb down the interior service ladder.

As soon as the hatch above him would close, Will would use his special communicator, designed for covert operations, in order to contact his Beta team. The first two-man team was monitoring access via the sewer and service tunnels under the Center. The second team's assignment was the ventilation system. The third team was stationed in the roof structure in order to monitor that space's use as a method of access to the interior of the Center. The fourth team was stationed with the satellite to prevent its capture or, if that was not possible, to destroy it. The fifth and last team was stationed with the rocket itself to prevent any sabotage.

There was no danger of eavesdropping or detection as the entire system was designed to be undetectable and untraceable. Every burst was encrypted using a Quantum Uncertainty Interference Encryption Technique and then sent out over a variety of different frequencies, each masquerading as normal signal such as a cell phone or wifi signal. The exact mix of signal types was chosen to match the mix of existing signal traffic so that the extra traffic could not be identified by the type of signal used. The constantly changing signal mixed would also prevent any system not using the same algorithm from being able to monitor or trace the signals for long.

Although Will was effectively serving as a decoy for his own security plan, he still followed the rules and regulations to the letter. The Alpha and Beta teams were working two ten man shifts, with eight hours on and eight off. The rotating time of day was designed to prevent the shifts from becoming complacent but there was always a danger that fatigue and boredom could compromise security. If the obvious security were allowed to get lax, this would present an opportunity for Possible and Shego to penetrate the Center. Should that happen, he knew that Dr. Director would have him transferred to McMurdo in Antarctica to shovel snow.

~O~O~O~

Shego used high-powered binoculars to watch Will Du complete his inspection round for the third time, signaling Kim as soon as the hatch on the roof closed behind him. Kim sat hunched over a portable multi-frequency analyzer monitoring the electronic traffic in the region around the Middleton Space Center. She examined the results from the last few minutes and compared them with those obtained from the last two times Will had used the service ladder.

"No doubt about it, each time he goes down the service ladder, the total electronic traffic increases by almost 15%. It looks like he has some type of communication device with him. If they are going to this much trouble to keep us from eavesdropping on their communications, then they must have something very special to hide."

Shego nodded as she put the binoculars in their case and moved to help Kim pack the electronics gear they had been using to analyze GJ's security and look for weak points. Once the equipment was packed, they carried it to a nearby van and loaded it in the rear. The van was a nondescript panel type used by many businesses for deliveries and on-site work, with the logo of a local surveying firm on the side. After the equipment was stowed away, they climbed into the van, with Kim driving, and started to drive toward Middleton.

"You were right, princess. It looks like they have more security than is evident from either their duty logs or their visible presence. Do you think this is Betty's idea or has old Du learned a new trick?"

"It was probably Betty; she was always both smarter and more devious than Du. Where do you think they have the additional security?"

Shego called up a schematic of the Center on her tablet and pointed to several locations. "My guess would be here, where the service tunnels enter the main building, and here, the main entrance to the ventilation system and the service crawlspace. Those are obvious points of entry and we have both used them plenty of times. I think even Du could figure out they need to be guarded."

Kim nodded her agreement and checked the time. "So, do we use my entry plan or not. We only have an hour to make the shipping center if we are going to do it."

Shego rolled her eyes. "I suppose, we haven't come up with anything better that takes the extra security into account. I can't believe we are going to mail ourselves to the center. I feel like I'm in a cheesy spy film."

Kim chuckled as she drove towards the shipping depot where cargo was off-loaded from trains and placed on trucks. "Not mailed, shipped."

~O~O~O~

Ken Du sat at his hidden command center and monitored his brother's activities. Even he had to admit, Will was doing an excellent job of presenting a false face to the world while still maintaining control of the total operation. The members of Ken's own Zeta squad were split into three four-man teams and stationed around the center at strategic points that would enable them to respond to any action in a minimum of time. For communication, they used a hardwired communication system, installed under the guise of upgrading the security system, which linked each of their posts and his command center. They also carried QUIET coms, for use if they needed to move from their base locations or to get in contact with Will's teams.

Unlike Betty or his kid brother, he had not tried to predict where or how Kim and Shego would enter the center. He assumed that given their combined experience, as well as Kim's familiarity with the layout and procedures of the center, they would be able to gain entry no matter what. He had also assumed they probably would be able to escape detection until they reached their objectives. Therefore, he had positioned his team so that they could intercept anyone entering or leaving the areas where the rocket was being prepped and where finally assembly on the satellite was being completed.

He and his team had been in place for one day, which left two days until the launch. He wondered if the attack would come soon, before the Center was crowded with people performing last minute tasks and readying for the launch, which would leave time for a second attempt it the first failed and should make moving around undetected easier due to the lack of people. Perhaps they would wait to the last minute and use the confusion of the last minute launch preparations as cover for their attack. Normally you could predict what a target would do but in this case, given Possible and Shego's experience and with Global Justice procedures in particular, that was not possible.

~O~O~O~

A little before 3PM, an eighteen-wheeler backed into the secure delivery bay at the side entrance to the Middleton Space Center. Once the truck was backed up to the loading dock, the driver exited the cab, handing the bill of lading and other paperwork to the GJ agent on duty while the agent's partner secured the gate which would prevent the truck from leaving until it had been cleared but still allow surveillance of the area near the side entrance. Paperwork turned over, the driver made his way to the secure holding area, a locked area made of shatterproof polycarbonate that allowed his actions to be observed while also allowing him to observe his load to insure everything was accounted for properly.

Once the driver was secure, the agents waited for agent Will Du to arrive before inspecting the truck's load. As soon as he entered the area, one agent took up guard near the gate, keeping the entrance area under observation, the second moved to the doors of the trailer and prepared to inspect the load as Will took up station near the containment area, a post that allowed him to observe both the agents and the driver. At a nod from Will, the agent at the rear of the trailer opened the doors and started to match the contents with the invoices while the various security scanners built into the dock analyzed the truck's contents.

At that moment, exactly as planned, several mechanical and electronic timers tripped, activating a number of devices located in and around the Center. Almost immediately, messages started to flood both Will's normal and covert communicators.

"GJ control, this is Center security. We have multiple EM signals located within the Center."

"Leader, this is Alpha 3. We have multiple bogies in sight. They appear to be drones and are dropping smoke canisters along the sides and rear of the building."

"GJ control, this is Center security. The security system is experiencing intermittent failures and at least two systems are replaying recorded readings."

"Beta 1 reporting. Sensors indicate movement in one of the tunnels. Size and shape correct for targets. Heat sensors indicate body temperature. Alert! We have a temperature spike, sensor is off line. It may be target Shego."

"GJ control, this is Center security. We have multiple cyber-incursions on the system."

"Beta 2 reporting. We also have movement. Countermeasures are being used, cannot determine size. Temperature spike! We have a temperature spike also. Shego may be here."

As a welter of voices flooded both of his communicators, Will barked. "Alpha teams switch to QUIET coms." He waited a moment for them to comply with his order. "Alpha teams maintain posts. I want a full lockdown, no one in and no one out. Beta teams will handle internal security and back up. Beta 2 shift to help Beta 4. Beta 3 shift to help Beta 5. Alpha 5, you will have to cover the entrances to the ventilation system. Each team is to maintain their post no matter what."

Will had finished giving orders and was moving towards the interior of the building when one of the agents caught his attention.

"Sir, security sensors indicate the cargo has been compromised. How should we handle it?"

"Activate security lockdown on the delivery bay. We can check it later. Probably another distraction." Will didn't even pause as he answered. Once he had exited the area, the agents took up their guard positions and activated the security lockdown. Inside the trailer, the sides of two of the larger crates were pushed open from the inside, revealing Kim and Shego. Shego was wearing her normal green and black costume and Kim was wearing her standard mission gear of cargo pants and crop top. They quickly exited the containers and moved to the door of the trailer. Finding it locked, Shego used her plasma to destroy the lock. Kim raised the door enough for them to exit and then closed it behind them. Shego had been careful to cause minimal damage to the lock, so the trailer door would appear to be untouched unless examined closely.

They swiftly moved to the containment area, where Kim used a small laser to cut a hole in the polycarbonate. The driver looked terrified as Shego reached in and used a low-level charged ion field that she referred to as her knock out plasma to render him unconscious. Once the driver was knocked out, they moved to the locked door leading to the rest of the center. They waited, Kim checking her watch, until the security system on the door deactivated briefly, allowing them to slip into the hallway without setting off an alarm.

As the door closed and the security system reactivated, they split, with Kim heading deeper into the center towards the satellite prep area and Shego moving around the outer ring of the center towards the rocket prep area.

~o~o~

Ken Du shook his head in admiration as the reports from Will's teams flooded the airwaves. Possible and Shego had somehow managed to managed to co-ordinate at least a dozen apparent security breaches that all appeared within a two minute span. At least his baby brother wasn't trying to run them all down but had instead secured the perimeter and moved back up to the two target location. Making his own tactical decisions, he activated his com.

"Zeta 1, stay on station near the satellite. Prepare to offers support if needed. If the primary teams leave that location, you are to move in and secure it. Zeta 2, the same orders apply to the rocket. Zeta 3, continue to monitor the Possible twins."

~o~o~

Will Du rushed into the Center's main security station and demanded an update on the security breaches.

"The six EM signals are still transmitting, but are probably decoys as they are all stationary and emitting the same signal, which repeats every thirty second." The officer in charge of the station reported while indicating a monitor showing the signal's locations. "Both of the physical incursions ended in a thermal spike and no further reports have been made. Either they were also decoys or the targets have evaded further detection."

The officer shifted to another station and called up a status report. "We have three separate cyber attacks. The first targeting the launch control system, the second targeting the satellite control system and the third targeting the Center's security system. So far, the Center's firewall and security software have prevented any penetration. The cyber security division is monitoring the situation and is ready to respond if needed."

"What about the problems with the security system itself? Are they related to the cyber attack?" An impatient Will Du demanded as he surveyed the various security monitors.

"It appears to be an internal problem, sir. It started at the same time as the external attacks, before there was a chance for them to penetrate the system. The system is locking down some sections of the Center, some sections are having all of the doors opened and still other sections are simply going off line. Several sensors are reporting what is obviously recorded data, on a fifteen-second loop. We are afraid to shut the system down until we can determine what that would do the system."

"What do you mean, what that would do to the system?"

"We aren't certain what the status of certain sections of the Center would be if we shut down. They might go into lockdown or they might have everything opened. We also might lose what monitoring capabilities we still have. The programmers are working on it now."

Will Du nodded, before turning to the communications officer. "Contact Global Justice headquarters and report our situation. Request immediate back up."

~o~o~

Kim moved swiftly through the corridors of the Center, sticking to mostly unused side corridors and avoiding the more heavily traffic main corridors, while always growing closer to her objective of the satellite prep and assembly area. Nearing the area, she turned down a side corridor and headed to the Satellite Control lab. As she got within ten meters of the door, four men stepped into the hall from a nearby storeroom. They were clad in a dark navy blue version of the standard Global Justice uniform and moved in a controlled manner that told Kim they were trained martial artists. Three moved forward in a v pattern with the man in the middle staying back in reserve. The fourth man, evidently the leader, hung back and whispered into his communicator.

"Control, Zeta 3 reporting contact with target Possible."

He then stepped forward to support his team and addressed Kim.

"Stop. You are under arrest by authority of Global Justice. Surrender and you won't get hurt."

Kim smirked at the agents. "Do they train all GJ's agents to be that stiff or is it something you picked up from Du?"

With that quip, Kim launched herself into the air, aiming a flying kick at the agent closest to her on the right. The agent raised his hands to try to catch Kim's foot but she adjusted her aim in mid-air, using his arms as a springboard to launch herself at the agent to the left. The agent had been moving towards them, intending to exploit his teammate's actions, when Kim flipped over him, her foot scything down into the back of his head, causing him to slump to the ground unconscious. She pushed off the far wall at the agent who had been her original target, twisting her body around to land a vicious hook kick against the agents jaw. As the agent dropped to his knees, his jaw broken and several teeth knocked out, Kim landed at his side and knocked him out with a single elbow strike to the temple.

"Looks like it's you who will be getting hurt." Kim barely paused to deliver her taunt before springing into motion again. She jumped at the leader, who evaded her initial kick and proceeded to parry her punches while circling around her. The other agent used the first's movements to approach Kim from the rear and execute a leg sweep. As she fell, his partner moved in to capitalize on her vulnerability when Kim caught herself on her hands and swung both feet around, catching him on the side of the head. As he dropped unconscious to the floor, she sprang to her feet and launched a flurry of kicks and punches against the remaining agent. He managed to block or evade the first dozen or so attacks before a kick slipped passed his defense, catching him in the side and cracking several ribs. As he flinched from the pain, a follow up kick caught him in the jaw, knocking him out.

Kim quickly made her way to the laboratory entrance and examined the security panel set in the wall next to the door. She smiled slightly to herself as the third code she input was accepted and the doors unlocked. Taking a breath to steady herself she boldly strode through the doors.

"Hey, tweebs. It's been a long time. How is everything?"

Kim kept any hint of surprise from her face as she saw her brothers for the first time in years. They still looked exactly identical but had evidently undergone a growth spurt or two, since they now towered over her. They were less successful in keeping their surprise at seeing her from showing.

"Kim, what -."

"- are you doing here. The last -."

"- we heard you had disappeared."

Kim saw the look that passed between the twins and sprang into action, vaulting onto a nearby table and then tumbling to the far side of the room. Tim muttered angrily to himself as the containment bubble he had tried to capture Kim in caught only air, while Jim attempted to swing his plasma thrower around for another shot after the first missed. Before either could do anything more, she leapt across the room and attacked.

"Is that any way to greet your sister? I was going to offer you a chance to do it the easy way but I see you wanted to do it the hard way." Kim threw a barrage of kicks and punches at her brothers who, while larger than her and in good shape, could only managed to evade the first few attacks before being struck repeatedly. Once she was sure they were down for the count, Kim made her way to the satellite control console and started typing.

~o~o~

Shego avoided encountering anyone as she made her way towards the rocket prep area by using crawlspaces and like whenever there was a chance of her being seen. Once she drew near the area, she made her way to one of the upper floors before entering the area proper. From her vantage point, she could see the floor of the area below her and approximately half the rocket before the gantry and associated service walkways hid the rest from view. It took several minutes of careful surveillance before she spotted the Global Justice agents arranged for an ambush near the main entrance.

After moving into position above two of the agents, Shego lit her plasma and leapt down on the agents. The added impetus of her drop combined with the force of her strikes insured they were knocked unconscious. Once she had landed, she flung several plasma spheres in the other agents' direction in order to keep them pinned down. As she raced towards them, she could hear one of them making a report.

"This is Beta 5. We have been ambushed. Shego has taken out two agents already. We need –."

The agent's report was cut short as he was forced to defend himself from her attack. He dropped to the floor to avoid a glowing hand and rolled away from her. His companion, thinking she was occupied with him, had moved in to attack and been met with a kick to the stomach followed by an elbow to the head that rendered him unconscious. The surviving agent scrambled to his feet and struggled to bring his STOP watch to bear on her but was hit with several punches before he could get his arm up to aim. Unable to do more than struggle to evade her blows, he dropped to the floor after he received a punch to the gut followed by a knee to the jaw.

Once she was certain they were down for the count, she surveyed the rocket, looking for the best place to damage it and delay the launch without destroying the entire thing. She cut her assessment short when she heard a sound behind her and turned to find four men in dark navy blue Global Justice uniforms attempting to enter the room covertly. Three moved towards her in a v attack pattern while the fourth hung back and spoke into his communicator.

"Control, Zeta 2. Shego has eliminated primary agents. Moving to engage."

Shego shook her head. "You guys are like cockroaches. I guess I'll just have to squash you." Even as she taunted them, she was in motion, charging the two lead agents, fists covered in plasma. The agents seemed well trained in martial arts as they were able to evade her attacks but she noticed that they seemed scared of her plasma, moving farther away than needed when dodging it. She smirked as she launched a punch at one of the agents and followed up with a kick to the knee while he was off balance. As he fell to the ground in pain, she lunged towards the man who had been following the two lead agents. He frantically dodged to the side, as she planted her hands on the ground and flipped back, catching the agent who had been in front of her but was now behind her with both feet in the middle of the back. As he fell heavily to the ground, she was already moving, having used him as a springboard to launch herself at the leader. He dodged her flying kick and moved in, throwing several punches and elbows at her as she landed. She easily parried his attacks then unexpectedly dropped to the ground when she caught sight of the other agent aiming his arm at her. The darts from his STOP watch connected with the team leader's chest and he fell to the ground twitching as the voltage coursed through him.

Reaching up she grabbed the cables and used them to yank the agent closer. As he was pulled down, an upward kick impacted his jaw, knocking him unconscious. Shego jumped up and quickly moved to where the agent with the injured knee and the agent she had hit in the back were struggling to their feet. An elbow to one and a knee to the other rendered them unconscious and a quick touch of her knockout plasma insured the leader would also stay out.

Climbing the gantry to the third story, she used her claws and plasma to rip through the skin of the rocket and puncture one of the fuel tanks. That should insure the launch was delayed until the tank could be replaced and the skin repaired, she though, as she leapt to the floor and started to make her way to the rendezvous with Kim in the satellite control lab.

~o~o~

Will Du considered the panicked report from the rocket prep area as well as the Possible twin's report of combat outside their lab and tried to work out the best course of action. Realizing he would not be able to reach either location in time to help, he had the teams in the satellite prep area alerted as he ran to add his support.

Ken Du shook his head in annoyance as he contemplated the reports from both his and Will's teams. He had known Possible and Shego were highly skilled combatants but had assumed his highly trained four man squads would at least slow them down. It seems that, like his brother, he had underestimated them. Hearing Will's orders, he left his command area and ordered his remaining team to rendezvous with him in the satellite prep area.

As she entered the satellite control lab, Shego saw Kim working at a console. Looking around, she saw Kim's brothers lying unconscious in the middle of the lab where Kim had left them hogtied.

"Damn, princess. Weren't you a little harsh on your brothers?"

Kim didn't bother to turn as she replied. "It's for their own good. If I hadn't treated them like everyone else that got in my way, Betty might think they were helping me. This way, she won't have any reason to suspect them."

Shego didn't say anything but simply waited in silence until Kim continued. "All right. They didn't even give me a chance to talk. Jim tried to capture me in a containment bubble and Tim shot at me with a plasma thrower. I had to take them out before either got another shot."

Shego smirked. "And I suppose you took no pleasure in beating up your brothers."

Kim huffed as she rose from the console. "No more than you would. I got the data we needed from here, let's move." She started to move towards the door.

"Right behind you, cupcake." Shego replied as she followed her out of the room.

~o~o~

Will and Ken Du eyed each other warily from their station near the satellite clean room, as they directed their teams to take up positions in the satellite prep area covering the entrances. Will was upset that Dr. Director had sent his brother as hidden back up, as though he couldn't handle the mission on his own. Ken hoped that his brother could put their rivalry aside long enough to complete the mission. Both of the brother hoped that reinforcements arrived soon, as they doubted the ability of even their combined forces to stop Possible and Shego.

The brothers worrying stopped when two figures dropped into the middle of the room from a vent in air conditioning system. They quickly signaled for their teams to move to flank the two women.

"Princess, these guys are as bad as Drakken, they didn't even think about guarding the vents."

Will stepped forward and raised his STOP watch. "Kim Possible and Shego, you are under arrest by authority of Global Justice. Surrender now and you won't be hurt."

Kim and Shego both rolled their eyes. "You're right, Shego, he hasn't changed a bit. Still the same old, stiff as a board, loser."

Hoping to control the situation, Ken stepped forward and addressed the women. "You are surrounded by ten elite Global Justice agents. You have no chance for escape. Surrender now."

Shego glanced at Kim in disbelief. "Do you think Betty grows them in a vat or something? This one sounds just like old Willie here. He even looks like him, too."

"I am Ken Du, Will's brother, and the head of Global Justice's elite covert operation division." Ken replied in anger.

Both women started giggling uncontrollably. "Ken Du? Will Du's brother? What's wrong with your parents, choosing names like that?" Kim wondered.

Shego smirked. "I wonder if they have a sister called May Du, maybe a cousin named Hair Du or an Aunt called Whoop-de Du." She struggled to control her laughter as the Du brothers faces turned red in anger. "And don't forget their favorite pet, Doggie Du."

As their own men started to snicker, the Du brothers shared an angry glance then turned to order the men to attack. Seeing the look on their leaders faces, the men struggled to control their mirth and move into action. With both the teams and their leaders distracted, Kim and Shego cut off their laughter and leapt to the attack. Shego charged the group by Will Du, hands wreathed in green fire as Kim did a front handspring into a flying kick towards the group near Ken Du.

Will dropped to the ground and rolled out of range, shouting orders, as Shego approached. His men scurried to avoid Shego's initial assault and take up the tactical pattern their leader was calling out. All but one of the men was successful, the unsuccessful one stumbling slightly, which allowed Shego to land a punch, leg sweep, knee combo that sent him sliding across the floor into the wall, unconscious.

Ken moved to block Kim's flying kick and was dismayed when she shifted her aim in mid-air and used his arm to springboard over him and deliver a crescent kick to the side of the head of one of his men, sending him crashing into a second man who fell to the ground under the, now unconscious, man's weight. Kim landed lightly behind the group and taunted them as she moved to attack.

"It doesn't seem you are an elite force. You fell for that move, just like the last group."

Shego didn't give Will's team a chance to attack first. Feinting a charge at the two in front of her, she stopped short, planted both hands on the ground and launched herself back at the agents behind her. Will Du once again saved himself by dropping to the ground but a kick to the jaw caught the second agent and sent him sprawling unconscious to the ground. Shego landed lightly then leaped into the air to avoid Will's leg sweep. Alighting safely out of range, she mocked him.

"Going to have to do better than that to catch me, Will fail."

Kim attacked with a flurry of kicks and punches before dropping into a crouch and sweeping the legs of one of the agents. As he fell to the ground, she met him with a knee to the head, instantly knocking him out. She resumed her stance as Ken advanced with his two remaining agents slightly ahead and to either side of him.

Shego feinted an attack at Will then flipped over him and delivered a roundhouse kick to the side of one of the other agents. Her knee caught him on the chin as he doubled over in pain while she used a plasma charged hand to block the second agent's STOP watch attack, melting the darts together. As the agent scrambled to evade her attacks, she launched a series of punches before catching him off guard with a crescent kick that landed on his hip, knocking him off balance. Before he could regain his balance, a plasma charged hand to the jaw sent him spinning into to the floor unconscious.

Kim darted forward, as though to attack Ken, then changed direction suddenly to attack the agent to her left. He struggled to fend off her blows while his partner moved to attack from the rear. Before he could react, Kim shifted her attack to the agent behind her, catching him in the groin with a low kick followed by an elbow to the back of his head as he doubled over in pain. The agent she had originally attacked had grabbed her by the shoulder but she grabbed his hand and throwing her legs around his arm and across his chest, taking him to the ground in an arm bar. The agent groaned as his elbow hyper-extended but fell silent as Kim raised her heel and crashed it down into his temple, knocking him out.

Realizing their danger, Will and Ken met in the center of the room and stood back-to-back, ready to face the women. The four stared at each other in silence for several tense moments before Kim spoke.

"Give up. We have taken out eight of your men already so taking you won't be a challenge."

Will's face grew indignant. "I am an agent of Global Justice and will never surrender to a pair of criminals."

Kim shook her head in sorrow. "We're not criminals, you are. This satellite is supposed to be used for humanitarian purposes but instead Global Justice is helping a petty tyrant use it to murder his own people. Last chance."

Will met he gaze calmly for a moment before replying. "I will never surrender. Sixteen."

Ken instantly responded. "No, twelve."

"B." Will responded as he dropped to the ground and rolled backward and to his right before rising to confront Kim. Kim had read his action before they were completed and attacked with a barrage of kicks and punches as Will was climbing to his feet. He was able to stop her attacks with a series of desperate blocks but was unprepared when she dropped into a crouch and sweep his legs. He struggled to protect himself as he fell, before an axe kick slammed him into the floor, and unconsciousness, as his head impacted the concrete.

At the same time Will dropped, Ken spun to his right and launched a flying kick aimed at Shego's head. She smirked at him as she caught his foot and, using her comet enhanced strength, threw him across the room, where he crashed in a shelf and fell to the floor unconscious.

"That takes care of the trash. Time to get what we came for."

Kim was already entering the clean room that held the satellite, a camera in hand, as she replied. "I'm on it."

~o~o~

Kim and Shego hurried through the halls of the Center, headed to the main elevator bank. From monitoring Will Du's communicators, they knew that Global Justice should be arriving soon with reinforcements. Reaching the elevators, which had been shut down due to the erratic behavior caused by the malfunctioning security system, Shego pried the doors to one of the elevators open. They both checked the shaft to make certain the car was at the basement floor, before Kim grabbed Shego tight with one arm, while the other lifted a grapple gun and fired. Catching near the top, they were rocketed up the shaft, where they landed on a service platform.

They quickly climbed into the equipment room over the elevator shaft. Using the ventilation panels, they checked for any guards stationed on the roof. Not seeing any, they cautiously opened the door and walked out. Most of the roof was deserted but hovering over the equipment room, and therefore out of sight, was a Global Justice Hover Jet.

Shego looked at Kim with a smirk on her face. "Should we?" She whispered.

"Let's." Kim whispered back as she started to make her way towards the jet. Once they were near the door, Kim made a slight noise, drawing the pilot's attention. When he cautiously stuck his head out to check the roof, Shego grabbed him by the front of his shirt and threw him to the roof. Kim rapidly searched the stunned pilot for his remote as Shego strapped herself into the pilot's seat. Once Kim climbed into the seat next to her, holding the remote, she activated the main jets and sent them flying away from the center.

Shego looked at Kim with an amused smile on her face. "Pumpkin, have you ever been to Venice? I know the best restaurant there."

~O~O~O~

**A/N – **The next chapter should be posted in soon. Look for a little lighthearted adventure before the next big mission, plus reconnecting with an old friend in **Action and Reaction** Chapter 6 – Venice: Canals, Romance and Rocket-Powered Gondolas.


	6. Venice:

**Venice: Canals, Romance and Rocket-Powered Gondolas**

**Disclaimer – **I don't own Kim Possible.

**A/N – **Thanks to all my readers and everyone who reviewed. If the last chapter seemed badly structured, that is because FF.n ate some of my scene breaks. I have gone back and fixed it. Note that ~O~O~O~ indicates major shift in time and place, while ~o~o~ indicates small shifts in time or place.

Since this chapter, like all the others, ran long, I've decided to stop trying to shoehorn each chapter into the outline and just let it be as long as it needs to be. Not quite as lighthearted as planned but the reunion took over and became much darker than originally planned. The end, however, is much more lighthearted and contains a variety of atrocious puns and general buffoonery.

Chapter 6 – Venice: Canals, Romance and Rocket-Powered Gondolas

Kim trailed after Shego as they walked along a canal in Venice; having just left St. Mark's they were now headed for what Shego called her favorite restaurant in Europe. Kim was dressed in jeans and blue button down shirt while Shego wore a pair of black dress pant and a lime green polo shirt. Shego was providing a running commentary on the city and the sights, but Kim was too busy glancing around nervously, looking for threats, to pay attention. Shego shook her head when she noticed Kim's distraction and, stopping her running commentary, pulled her into a nearby the cafe.

"Kimmie, you haven't been listening to a word I said."

"But, I have. You were telling the history of the section of Venice." Kim protested, trying to look attentive.

"Bull. You were too busy looking for bogeymen to hear a word I said." Shego chided, as she led Kim to a table. Once they were seated and had ordered, Shego continued. "What's bothering you? You act as if you expect to be ambushed at any moment. I told you not to worry; no one is going to come after us unless we cause trouble."

Kim's face scrunched up in confusion. "I know what you said, but it doesn't make sense. We are both wanted by Global Justice and you are still wanted in 14 countries. We aren't wearing disguises, so someone could recognize us and call the authorities. I don't see how you can be so calm."

Shego sighed in exasperation. "Princess, we went over this. I have been a villain for over ten years and I have never been targeted except when on a job or in a lair. Trust me on this."

Kim sat in puzzled thought for a moment. "But the local authorities –."

Shego cut her off. "OK, pumpkin, time for you to learn how things work in the real world. The local authorities don't want to have a super-villain fight in their city, so as long as we don't break any laws, they will look the other way."

"What about Global Justice? Surely, they will have agents looking for us. I mean, after what we did at the Space Center, not to mention the prison, they must be hunting for us." Kim made a face as she sipped her espresso.

Shego gave a slight smirk while savoring hers. "Got to learn to like grown-up drinks sometime, cupcake. When it comes to hunting villains, Global Justice doesn't have the resources to mount a long-term worldwide search. Generally once a villain escapes and can longer be easily tracked, GJ simply adds their new crimes to the list and hopes they get caught the next time."

"Doesn't Global Justice monitor things and look for villains. If someone reports seeing us won't they come for us?" Kim asked, taking a bite of her biscotto.

Shego laughed. "Nope, Global Justice has to face their worst enemy, bureaucracy. First, any country that wants them to pursue a villain has to file a report detailing their crimes plus a request to place them on the global wanted list. Once that is done, GJ can pursue the villain if they have credible information they are in an area." She dunked a biscotto in her espresso and took a bite. "Because most countries don't want GJ running around at will, the UN says that credible information has to be a GJ agent or local law enforcement officer. So, as long as the local cops don't call, we're safe."

Kim looked both relieved and puzzled. "Won't the local civilian's report us? We are famous wanted fugitives."

Shego gave a brief laugh. "This is where Betty screwed herself. In covering up details of what happened years ago in Plantain," A brief, angry look crossed her face, "she also covered up the reasons for her to be looking for us. Officially, I was never arrested or convicted so I can't be charged with escaping prison. Officially, that wasn't a GJ prison you broke into so GJ has no reason to be looking for you. Officially, GJ had nothing to do with what happened at the Space Center, which means there weren't any agents present to identify us. Therefore, we have no current wants or warrants so Betty has no reason to push for our capture."

Kim smiled at the thought of Betty having to let them run free because of her own sins. She absently took another sip of her espresso, this time without the face. "So, the only thing they want us on is your old warrants?"

"Most of those were canceled when GJ threw me in prison. Only three are still outstanding: China, Iceland and Lichtenstein. I don't think we have to worry about the last two. Besides, as far as people in Venice are concerned, I am a wealth land owner and patron of the arts." Seeing that Kim was finished, she rose from her seat, left some money on the table, and escorted Kim out of the cafe.

They were strolling down the street towards some of the local shops when Kim caught sight of a black woman walking next to a man in high-tech wheelchair and stopped dead in her tracks. Shego gave her a puzzled look. "What's the matter, Kimmie?" She asked as she looked at the couple.

Hearing the mention of Kim's name, the woman turned and stared in open mouth surprise at her.

"Kim!"

"Mo!"

~O~O~O~

Will and Ken Du stood at rigid attention in front of Dr. Director's desk, waiting for her to finish speaking with the oversight committee. Disconnecting the call with an angry stab of her finger, she fixed her gaze on the two agents in front of her. After several minutes of enduring her silent scrutiny the brothers started to sweat, wondering what was in store for them after the fiasco at the Space Center. She swiveled her chair to face the viewscreen on the wall and gestured for them to pick up the remote.

"Would either of you care to explain what happened? We had two teams of elite agents lead by our two best agents and didn't even slow them down."

The brothers shared a brief glance before Will activated the viewscreen, to display a list of items. "We underestimated them, ma'am. They used numerous distractions, both internal and external, to confuse us, which allowed them to face us piecemeal."

Dr. Director's gaze did not soften or waver. "What kind of internal distractions did they employ? And how did they get them into the Center undetected."

"The internal distractions were six devices that emitted an EM signal." Ken replied as he called up pictures of the devices. "The devices were smuggled in masquerading as normal items in several supply shipments. Two were disguised as snacks in the vending machines, two as cans of food in the kitchen and two as boxes of office supplies. The timers were purely mechanical and so undetectable by our security scanners."

Dr. Director made a note of the answer. "Other distractions?"

After another glance between the brothers, Ken displayed pictures of several quadcopters. "They used several commercial UAVs to deliver smoke grenades around the Center's entrances. They also staged two physical incursions on probable entry points."

Another quick note and Dr. Director returned her gaze to the brothers. "Details."

"The first incursion was dummy with the right size, shape and body temperature to fool the sensors. The second was a simply a cart fixed with ECM to confuse the sensors. Both were equipped with thermite flares to simulate Shego's plasma." Will displayed views of the remains of the decoys as well as engineer's re-creations on the screen.

The brothers stood in silence waiting for Dr. Director to continue. She let them sweat for several moments. "What about the security system? How was it hacked?"

"Three separate external attacks were coordinated with the other distractions. The attacks were traced to a storage locker, where several computers were found, configured to deliver automated attacks." Ken clicked the remote and several shots of the locker with the computers were displayed. "These attacks were unrelated to the problems with the security system."

Will took over. "The problem with the security system was completely internal. The system had been hacked over a month ago and a series of viruses and Trojan Horses installed. Once activated, they caused the problems with the security system. Most of the actions; such as the area lock downs, the area door unlocking and the area shut down, were on a random pattern, but several specific command were programmed in. We believe they were used to facilitate their entrance and exit."

Dr. Director nodded and she made a note. "How was the system penetrated? Were any of the staff or Possible's family involved?"

"Not directly. It appears that the scientists at the Center were running a gaming server on the sly. It seems Kim had an account on the server from before being place on probation. She hacked the gaming server and discovered a number of passwords. Turns out many of the scientists, as well as several members of the security staff, used the same password on the gaming server and the Center's system. That gave her access and allowed her to plant the viruses."

Dr. Director pulled a file to her, opened it and made a notation inside. "The scientists at the Center aren't going to like having a ground up security review." She said half, to herself.

"How did they obtain access to the Center?"

"They hid in crates that were in a delivery to the Center. The distractions were timed to occur as the cargo was being inspected. The security sensors detected them at the time, but I thought it was another distraction and didn't investigate." Will sounded almost ashamed as he answered.

"You did the right thing Will. I would have done the same." Ken said in support of his brother.

"I agree, Will. Everything they did was designed to get you confused and make you uncertain about what was a real threat. We got lucky this time. With the regime change in Plantain, the committee has decided to blame the old government there for everything. That gets us off the hook." She swiveled her chair to face them directly. "Unfortunately, we still have other problems to deal with. Let me tell you about my visit to the hospital to see the Possible twins."

~O~O~O~

Monique rushed to Kim and caught her in hug, actually lifting her into the air. "Girlfriend! I missed you so much. Where have you been? What have you been doing? Why didn't you contact us? What are you doing here?"

"Slow down, Mo, give her a chance to answer." Felix interrupted when she paused for breath, having approached unseen by the two women.

"Felix. I can't believe you're here, too. It's so good to see you and Mo again." Kim managed to reply, having regained her breath from Monique's vise like hug. The look of joy on her face clouded as she remembered she was not alone. "I'm here with Shego. We here doing the tourist thing and were on our way to get dinner."

Monique and Felix's sudden appearance had startled Shego, but that feeling had turned to dread when she recognized Felix and Monique as some of Kim's friends from high school she had encountered several times. Hoping to get a chance to talk, as well as avoiding a scene in the streets, Shego spoke up.

"Why don't you join us for dinner? It will give you three plenty of time to catch up. Plus, I can guarantee the best meal in Europe." She smiled at them, hoping they would accept.

Monique and Felix looked at each other for a moment, concern written on their faces, and then looked a Kim. "That sound like a good idea. We were just debating where to eat." Monique's voice was neutral but her face told Kim she would have plenty of explaining to do.

"Great. Follow me, it's not far." Shego plastered a grin on her face and led them down a side street towards the restaurant. The group traveled in silence, with Felix and Monique exchanging numerous glances and Kim daring nervous looks at the other three. She had been so happy to see her friends after all these years but now she dreaded the talk that was to come. Soon, they reached the restaurant and were met by the maitre d, who greeted the in flawless English.

"Madame, it has been to long since you last graced us with your presence. Your usual table?"

"No, Enrico, a table for four, on the terrace and with privacy, if you please." Shego replied, gesturing to the rest of the group. With a bow, he turned and led them through the restaurant's main dining room, an opulently furnished space crowded with elegantly dressed people, and onto a terrace overlooking the main lagoon. In contrast to the interior, the terrace was set with widely spaced tables and tasteful, understated decoration. Unlike the formal wear seen inside, here the diners were dressed in a mix of casual and semi-formal dress. They were escorted to the far corner of the terrace and shown a table separated from the others in its own mini-terrace. Once they were seated, Enrico motioned for a waiter to attend them and left.

"This is nice but I have a –." Monique was cut off by Shego's raised hand as the waiter approached with their menus and inquired about drinks.

"A bottle from my private cellar. A Bordeaux. Tell Nico I trust his judgment." Shego dismissed the waiter and waited until he had left before continuing. "Sorry to interrupt but I don't think we want anyone to overhear what we have to say. I suggest we wait until after we order to start anything serious."

Monique and Felix shared a glance and nodding, opened their menu. Kim smiled at Shego; glad she was handling things well so far and started to examine the menu. "A private cellar?"

"Better clients can pay to have a section of the cellar set aside to store their own private vintages. I have about fifty bottles here." Shego replied with a nervous smile. Felix and Monique shared another look, trying not to look impressed that Shego had casually taken them to the best restaurant in town where they were fawned over and treated like royalty.

"I suggest either veal, which is their signature dish, or the seafood. The restaurant has its own fishing boats and catches everything fresh each day." Shego advised as she perused the menu for changes. They sat in silence making their selections until the waiter returned for their orders. Kim and Monique both ordered the catch of the day while Felix and Shego ordered the veal. Nico, the sommelier, approached with the wine Shego ordered**, a**s the waiter left. He opened the bottle and presented it to Shego to be tasted. After nodding her approval, she asked him to pick a white to go with Kim and Monique's fish. He bowed and left, returning in a minute with another bottle for Shego's approval.

"We should be undisturbed for about twenty minutes, until the food arrives." Shego told them sipping her wine.

"I want to know what – oh, this is good." Monique interrupted herself after taking a sip of the wine. She shook her head slightly. "Back to business. What has been going on, Kim?"

Taking a gulp of wine to steady her nerves, Kim answered. "The last time I saw you two was graduation. After that, I had to move out because of my probation. I couldn't leave Middleton to go to school and none of the local schools would take me, again because of the probation. I had to get a job but, once again thanks to my probation, the only job I could get was at Smarty Mart."

She gave a wry grin at Monique's grimace of distaste. "As soon as I turned twenty-one I quit my job and dropped out of sight. I was tired of always having someone looking over my shoulder. I ran into Shego and she has been taking me around showing me the sights."

Shego admired the artful way Kim had tailored the truth for Felix and Monique, while they both sensed that Kim had left a great deal unsaid. "What about you two? What have you been doing for the last three years?" Kim asked to forestall any questions.

"I went to Carnegie-Mellon for my Bachelors degree and am attending grad school here in Italy, studying industrial robotics." Felix glanced at Monique, who continued with her story. "You know I got into design school in New York, so I went there for two years before one of my designs caught the eye of a design firm based in Milan. They offered me a job and I have been there ever since."

"That's good. I am so glad things –."

"Don't try to duck the question, GF. YSHALTE. You still have a lot to explain." Monique interrupted Kim before she could divert their attention. "Talk. Why didn't you contact us or ask us for help."

Kim's face took on a mixed look of anger and fear. Monique noticed how quick Shego was to reach out a hand to squeeze Kim's in comfort and just how much Shego's touch seemed to calm Kim down. Putting this together with things Ron had told her as well as things Felix had mentioned him talking about, Monique decided she would have to get Kim alone and have a heart-to-heart talk.

Kim took a deep breath to steady herself. "I didn't get in touch with either of you because I didn't want you to get in trouble because of me. I saw what being around me did to my family and to Ron. My parents had to cut off all contact with me after I graduated or risk losing their jobs. My brothers had to give up going to Science Camps and the like because living with me made them a risk. Ron, –." Kim stopped for a moment, a lump in her throat. "Ron and I had to break up because I couldn't have anything to do with him. They were always questioning him about any contact with me, even if he just saw me walking down the street. Eventually, he moved away to escape the harassment. He couldn't even tell me he was leaving because that would have been a probation violation."

Felix and Monique sat in stunned silence at the look on Kim's face, a look that said someone would pay for this and pay hard. "Felix, any contact I had with you would have ruined any chance at working on a government sponsored project. Mo, if I had kept in touch with you they would have come by every couple of month to check on what I had said. For someone in such a visible profession as fashion that could have ruined your career. I didn't mean to abandon you two. Knowing you still think of me as a friend means so much to me."

Any reply was temporarily delayed by the arrival of their dinner. The four sat eating in silence for several minutes, each wrapped up in their own thoughts. Felix was haunted by that last look on Kim's face, remembering time she had let her 'Kimness' take over, afraid she would give up everything for revenge. Shego hoped the two would accept Kim, who needed some friends desperately. Ever since the prison break Kim had only had her to depend on, a situation they had gone through before with disastrous results. For Monique, the big worry was Kim's emotional stability. From what she had seen, Kim was barely holding herself together and that only by focusing on revenge. Kim prayed desperately that Mo and Felix accept her explanation and not ask too many questions. She didn't want them to know about or be involved in her crusade against GJ, it was too dangerous.

"So, what are you two doing here?" Kim broke the silence, shifting to safer topic for now. She noticed the covert, semi-guilty glances between the two and made the connection. "This was a romantic getaway, right?"

Felix looked like a gaffed fish, with his mouth hanging open, while Mo's face lit up in a he smile. "Not just a romantic getaway, girlfriend. We are celebrating our engagement."

"Engaged!? No way. I'm so happy for you." Kim had leapt from her chair and grabbed Mo in a hug while Felix and Shego shared a wry grin. "You have to tell me all the details. How long have you been dating? When did he ask you? Where's the ring?"

Shego shook her head. "Kimmie, give her a chance to answer," seeing the look on Monique's face, "and let her catch her breath."

Kim laughed nervously and returned to her seat. "Sorry, I was just so excited. TME." She asked with a huge smile on her face.

Mo took a sip of wine as she caught her breath. "We met up again about eight months ago when Felix came here for grad school. At first, we just went out as friends but after about three weeks, we started going out for real. It was great having someone who didn't look at me strange when I talked about villains and saving the world. TMALSS (to make a long story short), two weeks ago he started acting all weird, stopping speaking when I entered the room, closing drawers before I could see what was inside, that kind of thing. A week ago, he takes me out to the fanciest restaurant in Milan, where we have a private room to ourselves, complete with string quartet. When it comes time for dessert, instead of the pastry I ordered they brought out a covered dish. When they lifted the cover, there was the ring. He barely had time to get the question out before I said yes." Holding out her hand, she let them see the ring, a diamond in a simple setting.

"Check out the inscription." Monique pulled the ring off and handed it to Kim. Inside the ring was engraved 'A bauble for the most precious gem in the world'. Kim let Shego see the inscription then returned the ring to MO, her eyes misty.

"That is so romantic. You two make a great couple. When is the wedding?" Kim had a slightly worried look on her face as she asked the question.

"We are looking at a date about six months from now. First, we need to arrange for us to get the time off to return home; there is no way we could ask our families to all travel here. It's hard to find a place and make the arrangements, when you are half a world away."

Kim nodded in understanding as she considered the logistics of the problem but all though was wiped from her mind at Mo's next question.

"Kim, will you be one of my brides maids. If I hadn't already asked a friend from work, I would want you as my Maid of Honor."

Kim sat unmoving here face a pale, frozen mask as the blood drained from it. "I can't. I can't put you at risk." She whispered, her thoughts in turmoil.

"Risk? What do you mean risk? Is there something you haven't told us?" As Kim sat there unresponsive, her eyes staring unseeing into the distance, Monique turned to confront Shego. "Is this something to do with you? Have you turned her into a criminal?"

Shego sighed and finished that last of her wine. "How much do you know about why Kim got put on probation?"

"She was supposed to have interfered in a government operation that jeopardized national security." Felix offered.

Shaking her head, Shego continued. "Kim was contacted by the government of the Republic of Plantain, who claimed I had stolen an item of great historical significance. They asked her to track me down and retrieve the item. I hadn't stolen the item, I was in Plantain relaxing at a beach house I had rented.

"Kim easily found me and we started to fight, her demanding that I return the item and me denying I had stolen it, when we heard the sound of helicopters approaching. Turns out, they had placed a tracer on Kim and sent the copters to follow her. There were three Apache attack helicopters, as soon as they had us in sight they opened up with their mini-guns and missiles. We barely managed to escape with our lives. In the escape, I damaged one of the helicopters. The pilot lost control, strafing his own men and launching a missile that destroyed one of the other helicopters before he crashed."

Monique and Felix were surprised at the look of regret on Shego's face. Normally she came across as a hard, uncaring villain but now she seemed more sad and weary then evil.

"For the next week we were on the run from the police and military, hiding out is abandoned farms before we hooked up with the local rebels. We found out the government was using the cover of stopping drug trafficking and combating terrorism to systematically round up and eliminate any resistance. Kim convinced me to contact Global Justice and ask for help."

Seeing the baffled looks on their faces, she explained. "They are the UN's law enforcement division and would have jurisdiction over the government, plus Kim had worked with them on several occasions. We met Dr. Director, the head of Global Justice, and told her what we had found. Instead of helping, she informed us we were wanted for terrorism and murder then refused to help us. Kim wanted to keep fighting the government but I made a deal with her instead. We would surrender to her and be dealt with by Global Justice instead of the government."

She took a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh. "I agreed to plead guilty to whatever crimes I was charged with and to not mention anything we saw in Plantain. In exchange, Kim would not be arrested but placed on probation with no official record being kept once it was over. Dr. Director accepted the deal and called off the forces hunting us."

Monique interrupted. "There was more to it than that, wasn't there? You and Kim were involved, weren't you?"

Smiling wistfully, Shego nodded. "We were. You have to understand, we were running for our lives, with a good chance we could die at any moment. We – We were in love and I betrayed that." Shego's face was full of self-loathing. "I told Kim that what we had wouldn't last, that it was only the situation we were in. I told her it was for her own good."

"Don't blame yourself, you were right, it wouldn't have lasted." The turned to see Kim giving them a wan smile. "We got taken into custody, where they didn't even bother with a trial, they simply threw Shego into prison and placed me on probation. For three years, I had a chance to think about what had happened and to plot my revenge. As soon as I turned twenty-one, I disappeared and started to put my plan into action. First I broke Shego out of GJ's top secret, escape-proof prison."

"That news story several months ago about something weird happening in the desert, that was the prison break?" Felix asked a gleam of curiosity in his eye.

"Yep, that was it. The next part was to expose the misuse of a satellite by Global Justice and Plantain. Right now, we are simply relaxing before the next strike."

"So, when you say you are worried, you mean you don't want the police raiding our wedding?" Monique eyed Kim appraisingly; wondering how much was still going unsaid.

Kim smiled. "Right. I would like nothing better that to be one of your bridesmaids, but I don't think you want to spend your wedding day worried about being raided by the police."

Monique was about to speak when a loud roar was heard coming from the lagoon. The four stared at the sight they saw, stunned. Three gondolas were rushing their way, each powered by large rocket motors strapped onto the rear of the boats. Three-foot tall rats in nautical garb were piloting all three of the boats. A man in a white silk shirt, who was waving a cutlass and shouting at his pursuers, apparently commanded the last.

Following the gondolas closely were four Global Justice agents mounted on jet skis. The lead agent was using a bullhorn to talk to the man.

"Desmond Hanier, stop immediately, you are under arrest by authority of Global Justice."

"It's pronounced A-near, you stupid lubber, the H is silent." The man replied as he signaled his rat crew, who swerved the boats at the last moment to cut down a nearby canal. The resulting wave crashed into the terrace the four stood on, drenching them. As they sputtered and glared after the rapidly departing gondolas, the Global Justice agents struggled to swing their jet skis around to follow the gondolas. Two were successful but the other two crashed into the terrace, sending the agent flying into the dessert cart that was being wheeled out.

Shego's hands glowed with green fire. "Interrupt my dinner and ruin dessert! That's it, this guy's going down."

~O~O~O~

Dr. Director made her way through the hospital, dreading the coming conversation. With all the history between her and the Possibles, she knew it would not be a pleasant encounter. As she approached the room, she saw Mr. and Mrs. Possible talking quietly outside the twin's room. Putting on her best professional manner, she greeted them as she reached the room.

"Mr. Possible, Mrs. Possible, it is nice to see you again. I wish it was under better circumstances."

While Mr. Possible looked at her with a skeptical expression on his face, Mrs. Possible regarded her with outright hostility. "What would better circumstances be, if it was Kim in the hospital instead of my boys? Is that what you wanted?"

"Of course not. I only wanted the best for Kim. How are the boys?" Dr. Director's answer was calm and unemotional.

"They both have mild concussions as well as numerous cuts and bruises. They should be all right in a few days. No thanks to you."

"Mrs. Possible, I repeat, neither I nor Global Justice had anything to do with what happened at the Space Center. Whoever attacked your sons and caused all the other problems at the Center is to blame." Dr. Director kept her voice level, hoping the Possibles caught the hint in her answer.

"Don't worry, we won't expose your cover story as the lie it is. Officially parties unknown did everything and Global Justice wasn't even present." Mrs. Possible moved closer to Dr. Director, until they stood with only inches separating them. "But, we both know this was a Global Justice trap for Kim. One that didn't catch her but did force her to hurt her brothers. If you ever try to us one of my children against another again, you will regret it."

Dr. Director's face didn't betray any emotion. "Mrs. Possible, if either your sons or your husband shared classified information with you, they could lose their jobs." Her threat was cut off by a voice from the door to the twin's room.

"Nonsense, Betty. I told them about it. Care to do anything about it?" Kim's grandmother stood in the doorway, a disdainful look on her face.

"It wasn't a threat but simply a warning. I was worried someone could try to make trouble for your family." Dr. Director hid her inner turmoil from showing on her face. It had been twenty years since Nancy Possible had been her instructor, but she was still scared of the old women.

"It's nice of you to be concerned. The boys aren't up to receiving any visitors right now and, since Global Justice had no 'official' involvement in the incident at the Center, I suggest you leave. Now." Despite the polite words, no hint of kindness or courtesy showed in her voice.

Dr. Director knew she had been out maneuvered by the old woman and would not be able to see the twins without causing a scene. Putting the best face she could on the situation, she took her leave of them. "Very well. Give the boys my regard and wish them a speedy recovery for me."

The three Possibles stood in silence as Dr. Director turned and headed off down the corridor. Neither she nor Mr. Possible caught the look that passed between Mrs. Possible and her mother-in-law.

~O~O~

"If Kim's grandmother admitted to revealing classified information why didn't you try using that as leverage against her." Will was genuinely puzzled by Dr. Director's failure to exploit the situation. Ken's laughter and Dr. Director's smile only confused him more.

"Kim's grandmother, Nancy Possible, has been involved with various intelligence agencies and covert organizations since the early Fifties and doesn't respond well to pressure. If I had tried anything with her, she would have hit back, hard." Dr. Director patiently explained.

"If she is retired, how much power could she still have?" Will still seemed puzzled by the situation.

"Will, you have to understand; in the intelligence and covert operations field she is a legend. She probably has the direct phone number of most agency heads on speed dial. Just by asking for 'favors' from old colleagues and foes, she could cause more trouble than we could handle in a year." Ken explained to his brother, who nodded in dim understanding.

"Gentlemen. That bring us to the real reason I mentioned my encounter with the Possibles. When I checked the visitor logs, I discovered that I was not the person to try to contact the twins. It seems the CIA also sent someone to talk to them. The nurse on duty said he didn't have any luck in getting to see them either." Both Will and Ken looked worried at the thought of the CIA causing problems with the Possibles.

Dr. Director continued. "It seems the Agency has been 'influencing' the twins for some time now in the hopes of using them against their sister. Hopefully, Nancy Possible's involvement will put a stop to that. That brings up my other concern. What do you know of the situation in Plantain?"

Ken looked thoughtful for a moment. "The President killed his cabinet and then himself. The resistance has taken over control of the country. Everyone suspects some sort of plot but no one know who or how. The US agencies were not happy to lose one of their favorite puppets." Will nodded his head but added no new details.

Dr. Director looked worried for a moment. "That's correct but there is one detail missing. An autopsy of the President shows he died two hours before he killed his cabinet." She gave a slight smile at their confused looks. "Servants who have worked for the President for decades say they saw him enter the room and kill his cabinet, but forensics says he was already dead at that time. Someone managed to impersonate him perfectly and it doesn't appear to be any of the normal players."

Dr. Director fixed them with her good eye. "This highlights a problem we have been having lately, not knowing things we should know. These are just two more occasions when we have learned vital information after the fact. Ken. I want you to set up full coverage surveillance on all family, friends and associates of both Possible and Shego. Cover anything related to them that you think could help find and capture them. You can use any one from regular or covert operations you need."

Ken nodded as Will asked expectantly. "What is my assignment, Dr. Director?"

"You will be working with your brother to track down and capture Possible and Shego." Dr. Director let a slight grin of amusement show at the startled look on the brother faces. "While Ken's Zeta team heals and he sets up the surveillance I ordered, I want you to hand pick a twelve man team. You can chose anyone you like, but remember this will be a covert operation and you will be facing Possible and Shego, so following the rules is not a high priority. Once both teams are ready I want them to do an intensive, advanced hand-to-hand class."

She turned back to the communication system on her desk as she cut off their protests. "Dismissed."

~O~O~

Ann Possible watched Dr. Director walk away, thinking about what she would have to do. Nancy's look had told her this was her problem and she needed to handle it. As her husband and his mother turned to enter the twin's room, she left them with the excuse of checking on the boys' condition with the doctor. She felt pride swell in her chest at having made the right decision as her mother-in-law favored her with a brief, congratulatory smile before entering the room.

She entered the nearest doctor lounge and, finding it empty, pulled out a cell phone from a zippered pocket in her purse. Unlike her normal phone, this had no screen or keyboard, just a small oval depression. Pressing the thumb of her left hand against the oval, she waited for the device's fingerprint scanner and genetic analyzer to recognize her. In a moment, the phone activated, a holographic display appearing over it. At the top was an Evil-tel logo while underneath were several option; secure call, evil-mail, UN-GJ villains' hot line and In-terror-net access. Taking a moment to consider her options, Ann reached out and activated the In-terror net connection.

Starting a new topic in the information forum, she began typing her message using the virtual keyboard.

**INFORMATION WANTED**

'Top dollar paid for information relating to the government of Plantain and Global Justice.  
To reply contact braincase at In-terror-net'

_Amy G. Dala_  
_AKA Brainchild_

~O~O~O~

Shego ignored her water drench clothes and ran to the nearest jet ski, Kim following close behind. As soon as she had it back in the water, she climbed on, Kim joining her before she could start her pursuit.

"You aren't going without me, we are a team." Kim explained as Shego gunned the engine and set off in pursuit.

Monique and Felix had shared a brief, conspiratorial look before Monique set off running to the other jet ski and Felix put his chair into hover mode. Felix rapidly ascended into the air and spotted Kim and Shego as well as their quarry. As soon as Monique got the jet ski in motion, he directed her on the right course to follow. They soon caught up with Shego and Kim, who were drawing near the GJ agents, and settled in behind them in the chase.

"Mo, what are you doing?" Kim shouted.

Mo grinned at her. "I thought you could use some back up as well as some air support. "She pointed to Felix, who was flying over the canal indicating the direction the villain had taken.

"Let them help if they want pumpkin. I don't this guy is a major threat." Shego called over her shoulder. Kim considered the situation for a moment and nodded to Monique.

Rounding a corner, they caught up with the GJ agents, who seemed startled by their presence, then very nervous when they recognized their pursuers. The rear agents called over his shoulder to them.

"This is official Global Justice business. You are interfering in a criminal investigation. Leave now." He maintained a stoic expression but his voice betrayed his nervousness.

Shego glared at him. "We are taking this clown, down. You can help, get out of the way or get run over, your choice. Nobody ruins my dinner."

The agent gulped and considered the wisdom of opposing an angry Shego, particularly when she had Kim Possible in tow. Quickly deciding that discretion was the better part of valor, and increased life expectancy, he motioned for them to take the lead in the pursuit. "This guy is new; we have no record of him. He broke into St. Mark's and stole the Doge's ceremonial robes. He seems to think they make him ruler of Venice."

As the GJ agents dropped back, Kim leaned forward. "Who or what is the Doge?"

"Chief magistrate of Venice during the middle ages, one of the most powerful men in Europe. This guy doesn't look like Doge material to me." Shego shouted over her shoulder.

An evil smirk crossed Kim's face. "I don't know, he seems Doge-y enough to me."

Shego glared over her shoulder. "Don't make stop this thing, princess."

She quickly turned her attention back to steering the ski jet as they entered a small lagoon filled with boats and had to slow down. From the wreckage in the water, it was evident that the villain hadn't bothered to slow down but had simply plowed through the lagoon and any boats in his way. The GJ agents signaled they were stopping to help those in the water and motioned for them to continue.

Carefully weaving their way through the other boats, they soon reached the other side of the lagoon but could see no trace of the villain. Looking up they saw Felix was pointing to one of the smaller canal to indicate which way he had gone. Soon they reached the small lagoon fronting the fish market, where they found the villain's gondolas tied up and empty, and an uproar coming from inside the market.

Leaving the jet skis by a jetty they ran up the steps towards the market with Monique in tow as Felix guided his chair back to the ground. The cautiously entered the building and discovered several groups of rats holding off a crowd by pelting them with fish while the man harangued them from the top of several crates.

"Listen to me people; I am your rightful ruler. If you follow me, I will restore you to greatness. I will insure a monopoly on venetian blinds that will give us a strangle hold on the world."

As the crowd surged forward, he leapt to the floor and ran toward the exit in the rear of the building, trailed by his rats. Kim, Shego and Monique struggled to push through the crowd while Felix used his chair to fly to the exit and cut off the villains escape. As the women broke free from the crowd, hot on the man's heels, several of the rats pushed a large tank over sending it contents splashing across the floor. Felix was unable to avoid the deluge and was inundated with the tanks contents.

Looking at the women with disgust on his face, he cursed. "Great, my hover chair is full of eels."

Using the confusion as cover, the man and his rats made their exit from the building. After making sure Felix was OK and would follow them once he removed the eels, the women gave chase. They pursued the man down several streets and alleys before cornering him in a bakery. Entering the bakery, they were immediately pelted with a wide variety of loaves and pastries. They ducked behind a counter and tried to located the man, who they eventually spotted standing in the rear of the shop near a large vat of honey that was being circled by a swarm of flies.

Seeing the women approach, the man addressed them with a leer on his face. "Three beautiful wenches, all for me. This must be me lucky day."

"Sure thing Desmond, I'm sure you get all the ladies." Kim replied and Shego shook her head in disbelief at the man's arrogance.

"Don't be that way lassie. Besides, they call me Captain Buck." A look of annoyance on his face, the man surveyed the store looking for signs of the women.

Using the exchange as cover, Kim and Shego had snuck towards the rear along the left-hand side of the shop while Monique used the right-hand side. Unfortunately, several of the rats noticed Monique and started to pelt her with loaves they dipped in the vat near where the man was standing. Soon, Monique was covered in honey and breadcrumbs with a large swarm of insects circling in a deep cloud around her. She ran from the shop, trying to escape the insects, as the man taunted them.

"Looks like your friend was breaded and deep flied." Using Kim and Shego's disgusted reaction as cover; he snuck out the side door of the bakery. As he made his way into the street, he saw that most of his henchrats were clustered around a baked goods display, gorging on the contents.

"Yea, stupid bilge rats, there is all the pie you can want at the base, but you won't get any if yea get caught. Now move." The threat got the rats to reluctantly leave the display and follow the man into the street, Kim and Shego trailing along, baffled looks on their faces.

"Pie, your rats love pie?" Shego asked incredulously.

Giving a tip of an imaginary hat to her the man replied. "They're addicted to the stuff, can't get enough. It's what I pay them in. Now, fair lass, I must bid you –." His speech was cut off as Kim, who had circled around behind him, knocked him unconscious. Kim picked up the bag containing the regalia and started to examine the contents. Shego smirked at her.

"Just leave everything in the Doge-y bag, Kimmie." Kim gave her an annoyed look that quickly turned into an evil smirk of her own.

"Aren't you glad we stopped Captain 'Buck' Hanier and his pie rats?"

Shego thought Kim made a satisfying squawk when she hit the water in the canal.

~O~O~O~


	7. The Hunt for Wild Game

**The Hunt for Wild Game**

**Disclaimer – **I don't own Kim Possible.

**A/N – **Thanks to all my readers and reviewers. This chapter took longer to post due to real life. My nephew graduated from High School and we had relatives visiting the whole weekend. It took a little while to get back in the swing of things. The next chapter is half finished. Note that ~O~O~O~ indicates major shift in time, place and focus. ~o~o~ indicates small shifts in time, place or focus.

I am still looking for a beta reader to help with spelling and grammar. If interested please contact me.

Chapter – 7 – The Hunt for Wild Game

Jack Hench sat at his solid mahogany, handcrafted desk, reviewing the quarterly reports of his company and its many subsidiaries. While many saw him as slick salesman, without morals or a conscience, he was in truth much more than that. A financial wizard to rival any on Wall Street, his greatest talent was in reading people. His chosen field, super-villain supply, was populated by some of the strangest, most unstable individuals in the world, yet he thrived by knowing what they wanted and supplying it for a price. His work was interrupted by a signal from his secretary.

"What is it? I said I was not to be disturbed except for an emergency." He answered testily.

"Sir, the Head of Computer Operations has a Class 1 alert." The secretary's voice was crisp and professional.

"What type code?"

"Damocles, Sir." Hearing that one word started Jack to sweating, afraid of what it could mean. Silently praying it was a simple error or case of mistaken identity, he ordered his secretary into action.

"Have him in my office in 5 minutes with all of the relevant information. As soon as he arrives, put us in secure mode, internal control only." The secretary immediately switched to the other line and conveyed Jacks orders, then prepared to activate the secure mode on the room.

Jack spent those five minutes in nervous review of current affairs, trying to find a cause for the Damocles alert. Nothing obvious came to mind and he was glad when Sylvester 'Sy' Sop, the Head of Computer Operations, entered the office, cutting off his fruitless recriminations. As soon as the doors closed, Jack pressed a button hidden under his desk that activated a second set of security features designed to make the room truly secure.

"What triggered the Damocles alert?" Jack demanded, wasting no time on pleasantries.

Pulling out his tablet, Sy tried to bring up a report. "An old account suddenly went active after almost 21 years of dormancy, sir. I have it right here. Sorry, there seems to be some trouble with the network, sir. Just a –."

Jack viciously cut him off. "We are in secure mode. There are no communications with the outside world. I ordered you to **bring **all of the relevant information. If you didn't follow that order, I will sell your contract to Gemini and then offer him a bounty for your quick termination. Again, what triggered the Damocles alert?"

Sy gulped in fear as he realized the situation was far more serious than he thought. He had assumed the Damocles alert was related to the account activation and was designed to make certain no one exploited a long dormant account. Rapidly calling up the relevant data on his tablet, he wondered again, if Hench's sky-high pay and benefits was worth the danger.

"I have it right here, Sir. As you can see, we have activity on an account that has been dormant for almost 21 years. Routine checks show the account was accessed using the latest E-phone and that all ID verifications were passed." Sy relaxed slightly as Jack nodded while glancing at the data being displayed.

"What account was it?" Hench's voice sounded almost nervous, but Sy dismissed the notion as silly.

"The account was for someone called Brainchild, Sir. They posted several requests for information on the forum and reactivated their Evil-secure payment account."

Jack gave a slight inward sigh when he heard the name. If she had activated her account, it probably had to do with her daughter. Handling the situation could be tricky, but nowhere near as bad as dealing with her mother-in-law. "What actions have you taken?"

"We have done nothing special, sir. So far, we followed protocol and treated the account like any other." Sy's composure had returned as he realized the trouble was someone else's problem, not his. He was just glad he had rejected one of his subordinate's suggestions to be 'proactive' and sequester the account.

"Good, I don't want anything done to this account without my personal permission." At Sy's nod, he continued. "For now, I want the account given Plutonium level credit and access to services."

Sy nodded again as he made a notation on his tablet, unable to believe what he had just heard. Plutonium level credit was for those few villains, such as Senor Senior Senior, who has vast personal fortunes and simply used the credit as a convenience while they arranged secure payment.

"Will there be anything else, Sir?" Sy asked, hoping business was concluded so he could return to his office, implement Hench's orders and update his resume.

"Transfer all the data you have to my system. I want all activities related to the Brainchild account sent to me immediately. Use the Dark Gorgon system. You are dismissed." Jack swiveled his chair to face the wall after deactivating the secure mode on the room. Sy rapidly made his exit after transferring the data, glad to have dodged the bullet for now.

Once he had left, Jack swiveled his chair around again and carefully examined the data Sy had left. It looked like Ann Possible was interested in the country of Plantain and any connections to Global Justice and the American intelligence agencies. From his confidential sources, he knew most of what had actually happened with Kim and Shego there, as well as the aftermath. He assumed her mother was interested in what had actually happened after the affair at the Space Center.

He would have to monitor the situation closely to insure nothing happened that would draw Nancy Possible's attention. He hoped, and desperately needed to believe, that a mother's concern for her daughter was all there was to the situation, that this wasn't the prelude to the endgame he had feared would come for almost twenty years. Once again, he cursed the day he first listened to Nancy Possible and her talk of special deals and the like. True, if he hadn't listened to her he would be anywhere near as rich and successful as he currently was, but he also wouldn't have to worry that it could all be taken from him at the drop of a hat.

~O~O~O~

Shego kept stealing glances at Kim as she drove the Range Rover over the broken rocky terrain. They had almost reached their destination near the Turkish border with Armenia and Kim was still staring out the window, lost in thought. At first Shego had let Kim sit in silence, assuming she was thinking over what had happened in Venice. Even by her standard, the situation had been very weird.

After capturing the so-called villain and his rat flunkies, Kim and Shego had collected Monique and Felix and headed back to the restaurant to settle the bill and then make an escape before GJ sent agents after them. To their surprise, by the time they reached the restaurant a dozen news crews were there, hailing them as heroes and clamoring for interviews. Kim and Shego were uncertain what to do when Monique stepped forward and started to answer the questions the reporter posed.

After listening to her explanation of old friends having dinner who simply helped out, Kim and Shego added their own answers. They told of Kim retiring from being a hero to live a normal life and of Shego reforming. They told of a chance meeting in Venice where they were both seeing the sights and then an encounter with some of Kim's old friends. The told of encountering the villain and helping out, no big. In an inspired flash Shego even told of the noble Global Justice agents who immediately stopped to help those who were stranded in the water after the villain sank their boats. In the end, they had received the thanks of both the city and Global Justice.

Kim had given her a strange look when she said it, but let it pass until later. Once they had returned to their suite, Kim no longer held her silence.

"What's the deal with praising Global Justice? I can see not attacking them unless we have proof of wrong doing but there is no way I will praise them." Kim's face was set.

"Princess, you need to think this over. I didn't praise Global Justice; I praised a couple of their agents. The agents are low level and know nothing about you, me or the truth about Global Justice. Being nice to them will hopefully plant seeds of doubt that will sprout should Betty ever accuse us of a crime without proof. Besides, think of the look on Betty's face when she finds out that Global Justice thanked us for our help." Shego tried to hold her laughter in but failed and was soon joined by Kim as they thought about Betty's reaction to the day's events.

After that, they turned in for the night. While they didn't expect any immediate attack from GJ, they only trusted their good graces for one night. In the morning, they checked out and used some of Shego's old contacts to arrange transportation to a small island in the Aegean. Once they settled in, they considered their options.

They had logged into Condor's old AUNT system and from there they had accessed GJ's system, only to find that most of the system was locked down. Most routine data was still available but almost every ongoing mission assignment was now classified and many of the personal assignment and equipment requisition files they had used in planning the attack on the Space Center were also classified. Kim threw a frustrated look at Shego.

"Does this mean my system is compromised? Why else would GJ suddenly start classifying so much normal data?"

Shego didn't answer as she started looking over what data they could access. After several moments, Kim joined her. Kim pointed to an item in the standing orders file.

"According to this, Betty's simply enforcing the rules that were already in place."

Shego brought up another item. "Looks like she restricted access to GJ data for a number of intelligence agencies, too. I think she is just tightening security all around and not reacting to anything specific we did. My guess is that if she knew of your access to the system, she would have either cut off all access or planted data to lead us into a trap."

Kim nodded and called up what little data was available on their next target, an arms shipment via some corrupt government officials to a Triad. "Based on what data there is, it looks like the arms shipment has been canceled."

Shego nodded. "That makes sense. If old Cyclops is tightening security, the last thing she would want is for something like an illegal arms shipment to be exposed. We just have to find a new target."

Kim grunted her agreement and they two spent the next hour or so combing through the files looking for likely targets. They used old duty rosters, supply schedules and types of personnel assigned to find a likely target. When they were finished, they had narrowed the list to three. Two were laboratories where questionable research was going on, while the third was an illegal listening post on the Turkish border near Armenia.

"I think either of the labs would be a good choice. They would show the world that Global Justice is no better than any other villain group."

Shego shook her head. "I don't think so, cupcake. Both of them are independent labs under contract to GJ. Look at how Betts wormed out of trouble at the Space Center. If we hit one of the labs, she will simply blame the scientists and say she had no idea what was happening."

Kim made a wry face. "I'm shocked, shocked to learn there is gambling in this establishment." She quoted bitterly.

Shego gave a wry smirk in reply. "That's the way the world works sometimes, pumpkin. We have to take things as they are. Let's save the labs for later, after we have exposed a few more of GJ's dirty secrets and Betty doesn't have anyone who will believe her lies. The listening post is the best target. It is a pure Global Justice base so they can't blame its existence on someone else. Given that, they have neither Turkish nor UN permission to be there, it will be hard to cover up its existence. Plus given how volatile the region is, once word of its existence leaks out, Betty will have to spend months dealing with the fallout."

Kim had briefly considered the options before agreeing with Shego with a smile on her face.

"As a bonus, if we can get access to their computer system, we can use it to find all of GJ's real goodies." With a pair of evil smirks on their faces, they spent the rest of the day arranging transportation, obtaining the needed gear and determining the exact method they would use to enter the post. Once everything was ready, they had set out.

Shaking her head to clear it of memories, Shego glanced at Kim again and found her still gazing out the window. Knowing she would need Kim alert and active for their mission to succeed, she pulled the truck to the side of the track, shut off the engine and turned to face Kim.

Belatedly realizing they had stopped Kim turned to Shego. "Have we reached our starting point? This doesn't look like the correct place."

Shego smirked at her. "No, we have another ten miles to go. I stopped now because you need to get your head in the game or I will have to leave you behind."

Instead of sparking Kim's competitive spirit, the taunt was ignored. "If that's what you want. I really don't care."

Concern written on her face, Shego grabbed Kim's shoulder. "What's the matter, Kimmie? This isn't about Venice is it? I thought we settled that."

Kim sighed heavily. "No, – well yes, – I." Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves. "It just seems that since Venice I have been doubting myself. It's been almost five years since I was saving the world and everyone still remembered me and hailed me as a hero. Even the GJ agents were calling me a hero instead of trying to arrest me. It's . . . just so confusing."

Shego smiled slightly, glad the problem was one she could handle. "You want to know if you can go back to being a hero, right?" At Kim's nod, she continued. "You could return to being a hero, Betty and GJ kept your probation secret and publicly no one knows of your latest escapades. But, you have to remember that the rest of your life won't go back to the way it was. Your won't have seen your friends in years and they will still be scattered around the world. You can visit your family again but that won't make up for the years you were forced apart. Global Justice will escape punishment for what they did to us and for what happened to everyone in Plantain."

Kim looked at Shego, a fire burning in her eyes. "You are right. I can't get back what I lost. GJ still has to pay for what they did. I won't let them get away with pretending to be the heroes when they're really the villains. They have ruined and taken too many lives to go unpunished. Let's go."

Shego grinned back at Kim and, putting the Range Rover in gear, started down the track again.

~O~O~

In half an hour, they were pulling their climbing gear from the back of the Range Rover as they surveyed their target, perched halfway up the side of a steep, craggy mountain. Global Justice thought the location made the post secure from invasion but Kim and Shego were determined to prove them wrong. Shielded from most normal means of detection and all but inaccessible except via a hidden tunnel or hoverjet, the post had few other security measures, an oversight they meant to exploit.

Within minutes, they were scaling the side of the mountain headed for a ventilation shaft cut into the middle of a shear fifty-foot cliff. The only practical way to reach it was to climb to the cliff top via another route. Once they were at the cliff top, they secured ropes and lowered themselves to the opening. After a brief check for alarms and security systems, they entered the shaft.

Kim smirked at Shego. "I guess you were right, these guys are as dense as Drakken. They still leave the ventilation system unprotected."

Shego rolled her eyes. "Yea, yea, princess, let's get this show on the road."

Without comment, Kim turned and started crawling down the shaft towards the post. Shego sat enjoying the view for a moment before shaking herself and following Kim. Soon they had reached the main portion of the post and started checking on its inhabitants via the ventilation grills. Kim silently indicated that three men were in the main operations area while Shego indicated two were in the mess and four were in the bunk area. A flurry of silently signals passed between them and they split up, Kim heading to the mess area and Shego heading for the main operations area.

One Kim reached the mess area; she kicked the grill out and leapt into the room. The two men were completely surprised by her sudden appearance and could put up no effective resistance to Kim's attack. Soon they lay unconscious on the floor, bound and gagged, as Kim exited the room in the direction of the bunk area.

Shego had swiftly gotten into position over the main operations area. She silently removed the grill and dropped to the floor directly adjacent to the two agents operating the main console. She reached out a hand to each and they fell soundlessly back into their chairs, rendered unconscious by her knock our plasma. Sensing something wrong, the third agent had turned, only to be met by Shego's fist, which sent him crashing into the wall. He slumped to the floor unconscious as Shego bound and gagged the other two. Once she had taken care of the third agent she started down the hallway towards the bunk are.

After meeting in the hallway outside the bunk area, they quickly entered the room and subdued its four occupants. Shego stayed to bind and gag them while Kim returned to operations area to get ready for the next part of their plan. Making certain all of the captives were securely bound with their faces clearly visible and their Global Justice credentials lying next to their heads, Shego followed Kim to the operations area.

In the operations room, Kim was busy typing on the keyboard to the main system. A variety of data was flashing across the various screens, some staying displayed and some being removed based on Kim's judgment of its usefulness. A nearby door to the main server room was open and a device about the size of a large briefcase could be seen connected to the main server hub. Waiting for Kim to finish, Shego opened her pack and removed a high-definition video camera and small module that she fit over her mouth. Looking up and seeing her ready, Kim flashed her a smile.

"All ready here. Since the agents were still logged in, we didn't have any problem accessing the system. I have displays set with each of the agent's personnel records near where they are tied up. In here, I have current status updates showing message intercepts from Armenia, Iran, coalition forces in Iraq, Syria, Israel, Russia and Ukraine. Their entire system should be copied to ours in another five minutes. Why don't you get started and I will take care of the decoy and signaling device then meet you at the ventilation shaft."

Shego's voice was rough and broken from the voice distorter she wore. "See you then, pumpkin. Don't get distracted." She giggled silently at the humorous sound of her voice as she headed for the main entrance, while Kim set off for the hanger level.

~O~O~O~

Brainchild sat at her desk, fighting the urge to sneeze and wishing she had done more maintenance on her hideout or at least cleaned it once in a while. Of course, when she sealed the place up and quit her old life twenty odd years ago, she had never expected to need to use it again. At the time, her new mother-in-laws advice about keeping her options open had seem silly but now, with everything that had happened with Kim and the boys, she wished she had done more.

A soft ding from her main computer system, a new EBM Mastermind 5000 from Hench Co., pulled her from her musings. Seeing that the results of her latest search were available, she was glad she had taken advantage of credit Hench had offered her, even though she knew it was done mostly to keep Nancy from getting involved. That credit had allowed her to update most of her old equipment without needing to use any of her hidden funds, funds whose use might have drawn the wrong people's attention. As annoyed as she was with her mother-in-law, right now, she was glad that the mere threat of the old woman's attention had Hench jumping through hoops.

As she read through the contents of the latest results, she felt a chill race up her spine and settle over her mind. If what she read was true, then Nancy was in for world of trouble. A cold grin crossed her face as she thought of the irony of her mother-in-law's influence getting her access to the resources she would use to destroy her. Humming a jaunty tune to herself, she called up the order page on the Hench Co. website and started shopping.

~O~O~O~

Once Shego had finished the video, she grabbed their computer system from the server room and went to meet Kim. Kim, in the mean time, had set one of the hoverjets to act as a decoy and planted a GPS beacon on a timer in the hanger before making her way to ventilation shaft they had used to enter the base. Making certain they had removed all of their equipment, they rappelled down the cliff face and then swiftly made their way back to the Range Rover. Once again, Shego drove, while Kim opened her laptop and activated its satellite modem.

"So, Kimmie, who is getting a copy of the video?" Shego asked as she drove towards the border with Georgia.

Kim hummed happily, as she typed away for several minutes before answering. "The major news organizations in each of the countries that had signals intercepted as well as most of the major news organizations in the rest of the world. I also sent copies to the military and intelligence agencies in each of the affected countries."

"Harsh, princess, harsh. Cyclops is going to have her hands full just stopping a war from starting, let alone covering up. What if none of the media outlets run the story? I mean, Betty has spiked storied before."

Kim smiled at her. "No big. One of the people on the list is Martin 'Mac' Rucker over at GNN, he'll run anything."

Shego laughed, knowing that the president, founder and only employee of GNN, the Gossip and News Nexus, would indeed run any story no matter how outlandish or untrue. Kim hooked up the data store containing the information from the post to her laptop and began searching the data.

Shego glanced at her. "So, cupcake, anything good?"

Kim frowned. "Not so far. Most of the data is heavily encrypted and part of a program called SNITCHeS."

Shego snickered. "Snitches?"

"Yep, SNITCHeS, the System for Networking, Interfacing and Tabulating Criminals Hidden Secrets. Must be pretty important, since the files are encrypted even though someone with clearance was logged in. Ah, here is what we want, a list of covert bases and operations. Let's see what goodies we can find." A happy little evil grin spread across Kim's face.

~O~O~O~

The normally raucous patrons of the bar, located in one of the seedier sections of Buenos Aires, were abnormally quiet that night. Most sat sipping their drinks and stealing covert glances at the cause of their silence. Sitting alone at a booth in the rear of the bar was a large, muscular man dressed in an ill-fitting suit. Normally the local patrons would not tolerate an outsider being in their bar but, based on the man's Russian accent and numerous tattoos, they knew he was a vor of the Brother's Circle Bratva and, therefore, a man not to be trifled with. So far, the man hadn't caused any trouble, simply sitting there silently, drinking copious amounts of vodka. They only hoped that whatever business the man had there, it was finished quickly, and without excessive bloodshed.

Their eyes were drawn to a strange man entering the bar in an overcoat with the collar turned up and a hat pulled low over his face. They held their collective breaths as he walked straight to the man in the back and spoke briefly to him.

~O~O~

He had been sitting at the dingy bar for over an hour, wearing the shape of a Russian mobster, waiting for the head of the local gang to contact him and he was growing impatient. He didn't let any of the shock and surprise he felt show on his face when the man in the overcoat and hat approached him. Once the man stood in front of his table, he simply leaned forward and commanded in a low tone.

"Follow me."

"Yes, master." Without another word, he rose from his seat and followed the man into the street.

After making their way through a maze of back street and alleys, the men arrived at a large, once opulent house. Using a key, the man in the overcoat opened the door and led the other man to a room in the cellar. Once the door was secured, the man removed his hat and overcoat then took a seat in the only chair in the room, a large carved oak antique resembling a throne. The large man waited for him to speak first.

"Mask, I do not like having to search for you when I want a report. In the future you will make certain I know how to contact you." The voice was soft and cultured, with a hint of steel underneath.

"Yes, master. I will comply." The tone of the large man's voice was surprisingly subservient.

"And get rid of that form. There is no one here to impress or intimidate." With a nod, the large man dropped his head and concentrated. Gradually his form started to shift and flow, his height shrinking, his build slimming and the tattoos disappearing, until a normal looking man, one who would blend into any crowd, stood there. Once he was finished changing, the man in the seat nodded.

"Good. Now we may begin. What is the status of Possible? Putting her on probation was supposed to make it easier for Global Justice to recruit her. Once she was bound by their rules, she would no longer be a threat."

"The problem was the government of Plantain decided her probation wasn't enough. They bribed the official in charge of her case to do everything he could to ruin her life. Once Possible turned twenty-one and her probation ended, she disappeared after vowing to destroy Global Justice by exposing their secrets. Her first action was to break Shego out of Global Justice's Super-Max prison. Possible and Shego then targeted a satellite being launched by Plantain with Global Justice's backing. Their current whereabouts are unknown."

The seated man's face showed only a slight frown to indicate displeasure but that small sign was enough to cause Mask to worry. "Why was I not informed of this immediately? What has been done to rectify the situation?"

Mask swallowed nervously. "I did not learn of the situation until the oversight committee was being briefed about the background to the prison break. I did not inform you at that time as I felt the situation was time critical, that any delay would risk things getting worse. I instructed the committee to allow Dr. Director to keep her increased freedom for the moment but to encourage other agencies to work against her." He surveyed the seated man's face some sign and found none.

"I believe that Global Justice will be too occupied with the threat from Possible and the various agencies to be able to work against your plan. I also calculated that with Possible fixed on her revenge she would not notice our activities until it was too late. I have already taken care of the problem with Plantain."

Indicating his acceptance of the explanation with the barest inclination of his head, the seated man motioned for him to continue. "Since then, I have been making sure none of our operations has any traceable connection with Global Justice. I was afraid of such evidence falling into Possible's hands during the course of her crusade against Global Justice and alerting her to our plans."

The man stood in nervous silence until his superior spoke. "Very well, I accept your actions in this case. There is one threat you have not taken into consideration. Kim's mother is in play again. I suspect this is at Nancy Possible's instigation. Be careful that neither of them receives any information relating to our activities. If either of them does find anything, eliminate them both. In the future do not wait to contact me should there be a major development."

Without another word, the man in the chair rose and left the room, leaving the other man standing by himself. He waited five minutes before leaving the room himself, knowing the punishment for following his master too closely would be both long and painful. Even with all the power and influence he had accumulated over the years working for the man, he still feared to challenge him. This whole meeting was testament to the man's power. He had only come to Buenos Aires six hours ago while impersonating a major criminal, to use the man's connections, and his master still found him without trouble.

It was always that way. No matter what disguise he used or identity he assumed, his master could always find him without effort. That shouldn't surprise him, when he was still a teen and using his newfound power to alter his appearance for petty crime; his master had found him, offering to train him to use his power to the fullest and a place in his plan. Sometimes he yearned for those earlier, more carefree days, when life had been harder but he was his own man. Shaking his head, he dismissed such dreams from his mind, knowing his master would never let him simply leave.

~O~O~O~

**A/N – **Kim and Shego strike their first major blow against Global Justice.The next chapter Action and Reaction - 8 - Bagging the Limit, has more on what Ann/Brainchild is up to, exactly what was on the video Shego shot and an update on Dr. Director, the Du brothers and Global Justice.


	8. Bagging the Limit

**Bagging the Limit**

**Disclaimer – **I don't own Kim Possible.

**A/N – **Thanks to all my readers and reviewers, you are what make doing this all worthwhile. Note that ~O~O~O~ indicates major shift in time, place and focus. ~o~o~ indicates small shifts in time, place or focus.

My longest chapter yet at just over 9000 words. Kim and Shego take it to GJ, GJ struggles to respond and Ann confronts Nancy.

The nominating period for the 9th annual Fannies ends soon (June 20). This is your chance to honor the authors and stories you love. Go to the Kim Possible Discussion Forum and look for the nomination thread for instructions. Let your favorites know what you think of them. (Note - I am not eligible for any Fannies this year.)

Chapter – 8 – Bagging the Limit

Shego stood on a warehouse rooftop in Tiraspol, Moldova, surveying the warehouse across the street and its adjacent office building. Both buildings looked dilapidated and rundown but observation would show an inordinate amount of traffic entering and leaving both buildings. The same observation would also reveal that most of the people entering and leaving the buildings had a bearing about them that screamed law enforcement to a trained observer such as Shego. Turning from her surveillance, she made her way into the building and descended to the ground level.

"Looks like we are good, princess. The last transfer only left two prisoners in there. They shouldn't receive any new prisoner for a least a day." Kim nodded absently to indicate she heard Shego as she finished packing her mission gear.

After going over the list of Global Justice covert bases they obtained from the listening post in Turkey, Kim and Shego had selected several targets for immediate action. The targets had all been fairly close to their location, had minimal defenses and would cause GJ maximum embarrassment. The first choice, their current target, was an unofficial holding and interrogation facility for super villains disguised as a warehouse in the business district of Tiraspol, Moldova.

The plan was to wait until the prison had a minimum of prisoners and stage a raid. They would attack the offices in order to draw the attention of the local police, while being careful to avoid damaging the actual holding facility under the warehouse or releasing any of the prisoners. Once the police were on the scene, they planned to expose the existence of the prison. According to the data they had taken, the facility was operating without the local government's knowledge or permission, so the revelation of its existence should cause quite an uproar.

Seeing that Kim was ready, Shego opened the door and headed across the street towards the office building holding the prison's offices. With Kim hot on her heals, she didn't even break stride as she used a plasma charged fist to destroy the main door and Kim scattered several smoke grenades around the front of the building. Once inside they quickly disabled the two agents guarding the front door and made their way to the main office located in the basement. As they ran Kim activated a special app on her cell phone that called the local police and delivered a prerecorded message about the attack on the prison. They quickly reached the main control room and entered with a display of force; Shego sending a plasma ball to destroy the communications panel as Kim took out the two guards at the door.

"If you don't want to get hurt just surrender now. The local police have been notified about this base and will be arriving shortly." Shego commanded as Kim finished subduing the agents by the door. The agents glanced around, trying to decide whether to fight or surrender, when the agent who looked to be in charge surprised them by moving rapidly to a console and pressing a large button. Immediately sirens started to sound and recorded emergency warnings advised them to evacuate the building. As the head agent tried to flee, one of the other agents grabbed him by the arm.

"Are you mad? Do you realize what you have done? You can't blow up this base and release two super villains in the middle of a major city. Are you mad?"

He pulled his arm from his underlings grasp. "I am following orders. We are not to allow the existence of this base or its purpose to be exposed. Releasing a few super villains is a small price to pay. Now follow me, we can't have any Global Justice agents on the scene, they could incriminate us."

As the head agent ran off the other four agents exchanged stunned looks before turning to face Kim and Shego, who had equally stunned looks on their face.

"What did that moron do?" Shego emphasized her question with a plasma wreathed hand.

The agents started to move towards the entrance as one yell at the two. "He activated the emergency destruct system. We have two minutes to get out of the building before it is destroyed."

Kim and Shego exchanged a baffled look as they raced after the agents.

"What is a GJ base doing with a self destruct system? That's something I would expect in a super villain lair." Kim demanded when they had reached the street in front of the building.

"It is an emergency measure designed to be used as a last resort if the base was taken. I never expected it to be used so casually." The agent looked like he was about to say more when the agent who had pushed the button emerged from an alley and cut him off.

"That will be enough, Agent Green. You are in violation of regulations for sharing confidential information with wanted fugitives." He turned to face Kim and Shego. "You are under arrest by order of Global Justice. Come quietly and you won't be hurt.

Kim placed a restraining hand on Shego's arm as she stepped forward to challenge him. "What are the charges? And how do we know you are a real Global Justice agent? This base is not on any public list of Global Justice facilities."

The man pulled himself up straighter. "I am Head Agent in Charge Clarence Yarrow Anders. Here is my ID. Now surrender yourselves so we can leave before the local authorities arrive."

An explosion from the warehouse cut off any reply the women had. "It can't be the self-destruct, it still has 25 seconds." One of the agents said in confusion. The answer to everyone's unspoken question appeared when two figures stepped from the smoke around the destroyed warehouse.

The first was a large, ruddy faced blond man in coveralls carrying a large scythe with a glowing blade. Standing next to him was a wiry, dark skinned man clad in while dress pants and white shirt who had a small pouch at his side. They looked at the group with contempt.

"Looks like the GJ boys had to run off and get some girls to help. No matter, they will not be able to stand before the might of Cyrus McCormick, the Reaper." The large man sprang into action, charging the group and swinging his energy scythe at anyone who came near.

The GJ agents scattered to avoid his attack while Kim moved forward. She leapt over his first attack, dropped under his second and, avoiding his third, landed a front kick on his chest knocking him back.

"It's going to take more than a farmer with delusions and an energy sickle to stop me." She taunted, skipping back out of range of his attacks, a smile on her face. Enraged the man charged after her, swinging his scythe wildly.

"It's a scythe not a sickle, little girl. You can't dodge my attacks forever and when I do hit you will find you short life has come to an end."

Kim simply smiled at his threat as she continued to effortlessly dodge his attacks. Her attention was drawn to the sound of a large explosion nearby. As the smoke cleared, she saw Shego struggling to rise to her feet, as the wiry man in white started to run towards her a small ball in his hand. Thinking this was his chance to catch Kim unawares, the Reaper struck at Kim's back with all of his might.

Kim, who had seen him start to move out of the corner of her eye, leapt into the air and came down on the handle of the scythe, driving it into the ground. As the Reaper struggled to pull his weapon free, Kim attacked with a flurry of kicks and punches. Almost immediately, the Reaper fell to the ground unconscious, with four ribs broken by a roundhouse kick, three teeth knocked loose and his jaw broken by a left, right, uppercut combo and a severe concussion from the axe kick that knocked him out.

Seeing that Kim was tackling the mad farmer, Shego moved towards the other escaped prisoner. Seeing her approach he backed up to maintain distance between them as he pulled a ball from the pouch at his waist. He then started to run at Shego, before suddenly stopping and throwing the ball at Shego with an overhand motion. Seeing that it would hit the ground in front of her, Shego smirked.

"Looks like you threw a little short. It's going –." Shego's comment was cut short, as she had to drop to the ground to avoid the ball that had bounced off the ground headed straight for her face.

"It will take more than snappy patter to stop the Spinner. I suggest you let me leave before you get hurt." The man spoke in the clipped accents of upper class British society as he readied another ball.

Brushing dirt from the front of her uniform, Shego snarled at the man. "You caught me by surprise, that's all. You won't do it a second time, no matter what kind of trick throws you use."

The man ran towards her again a scowl on his face. "I do not throw the ball, I bowl it, you ignorant cow."

Shego saw the throw coming and dodged to the side to avoid it, a satisfied smirk on her face. The smirk vanished when, instead of bouncing straight as she had expected, the ball had veered in her direction. She tried frantically to dodge but was still caught in the shoulder by the ball, which exploded on impact. Shego was knocked to the ground stunned and struggled to get back to her feet. The man calmly backed up to give himself space and pulled another ball from his pouch.

"I told you to just let me go. Now it is time to finish this."

The man started running towards her again in preparation for another throw. Unfortunately for him, he was caught in the side by a flying kick from Kim just before he could finish his delivery. The ball sailed into a nearby wall, where it exploded into a mass of sticky stands of fiber. As he rolled on the ground in pain, Kim had raced to Shego's side without bothering to finish him off.

"Sweetie, are you all right. You're not hurt are you?" Kim demanded as she helped Shego to her feet.

Shaking her head to clear it, Shego leaned on Kim for a moment before standing on her own. "I'm fine, Kimmie. He just caught me by surprise. It's no big. What about the bad guy?"

Kim glared to where she had left the villain and saw him struggling to his feet, holding his side. "Don't worry, he is about to surrender if he knows what is good for him."

Seeing Kim and Shego glaring at him, the Spinner raised his hand in surrender. "Just my bloody luck. I get a chance to escape and run smack into a couple of super heroes."

~O~O~O~

As the lights in Dr. Director's office went up, Will and Ken Du turned from the viewscreen to face her desk. They had been stunned into silence by what they had seen. Someone wearing a voice distorted to protect his or her identity had given a guided tour of a top-secret Global Justice listening post. They had shown each of the agents assigned to the base along with copies of their personnel files.

The worst part came when the main control room was shown and close-ups were provided showing the live feed of intercepted traffic from a half dozen nearby nations. The narrator had made several snide comments regarding whether the target nations knew they were being monitored. The video ended with the narrator giving the bases location and boarding a GJ hoverjet.

Dr. Director regarded the two agents for a moment.

"Gentlemen, that video was sent to numerous government agencies in the region as well as news agencies worldwide. It has been posted to the Internet, where it has been viewed by over 25 million people. Six governments, including Turkey, have sent teams to investigate the base. Luckily, they decided to cooperate or this could have sparked a regional war that, given the US presence in the region, could have spread worldwide. Once the base's existence and purpose were confirmed, a formal protest was lodged with the UN. In addition Turkey has formally withdrawn from the agreement authorizing Global Justice to act in their country and given us two days to close all bases and remove all personnel."

The brothers exchanged a worried look. Withdrawal from the agreement was the ultimate sanction a country could level against Global Justice. It made all GJ personnel persona non grata in the country and forbade them from operating the area, even when pursuing a villain. It effectively made the country a haven for criminal and super villains, which is why no country was willing to take that step unless absolutely necessary.

"So far we have been able to mitigate their actions. This time, though, Possible and Shego have hurt us and there is no way we can cover it up. What are your thoughts?"

Will had a thoughtful look on his face for several moments before speaking. "I don't understand why we had a listening post in that. There is no major super villain activity in that area and I know of no UN mandate that authorizes us to be there."

"It's a covert operation for the UN called Sn –." Ken's answer was brusquely cut off by Dr. Director.

"The operation is classified on a need to know basis. The bases purpose is irrelevant to the question at hand. Evidence indicates that while in the base, Possible and Shego downloaded all of the data from the main computer, including a list of classified operations and bases. I want your thoughts on how we should proceed."

Will glanced at Ken and proceeded after receiving his slight nod. "How are we going to handle the UN? Our response will depend on what actions the UN and the oversight committee take."

Dr. Director was about to reply when her secretary activated the intercom to inform her that the oversight committee was on video link demanding to speak to her immediately. Muttering 'Speak of the Devil' under her breath, Dr. Director instructed the secretary to put the committee through. The three turned to face the viewscreen as it flared to life to show the seven members of the United Nations Committee for Oversight of Law Activities. Without preamble the chairman started.

"Dr. Director, in light of the upcoming UN meeting with regards to the incident in Turkey, we would like to hear how you plan on handling the situation. As the official oversight committee for your organization we would be remiss is we did not investigate this to the fullest."

The brothers glanced at Dr. Director, wondering how she would handle the situation, and were surprised to see a predatory smirk reminiscent of Shego on her face. "I am well aware of the problem you gentlemen have and would be happy to offer my advice on how **you** can deal with it."

The committee members looked confused. "What do you mean our problem? This was obviously a Global Justice operation and you will have to handle it." The committee chairman tried to sound forceful and commanding but came across as petulant instead.

Dr. Director's smirk grew wider. "If the committee insists, I will handle the situation. I will have to testify before the UN and explain that the base was part of a classified operation authorized by the oversight committee. I will probably be compelled to detail its name and purpose in an open hearing. The committee can be certain that I will do my best to justify the actions of Global Justice and the oversight committee."

The faces of the committee members had paled at the thought of Dr. Director testifying about her actions and those of the committee as well. After a brief, whispered consultation, the chairman addressed her. "You don't think you can threaten us do you? It would be a violation of global security to disclose the existence and purpose of that program. If you do disclose it you will be arrested and sent to prison." He blustered.

Dr. Director laughed. "If I do go to prison, I hope I get a cell near yours. Besides, if I inform the General Assembly that I can't testify without breaking global security laws, don't you think they will vote to give me immunity in exchange for my testimony?"

When there was no reply, she continued. "You gentlemen need to face the fact that once again your actions are the cause of the problem. I have cooperated with you in covering up for too long. If you gentlemen don't take care of the problem then you can expect me to handle it in the manner I described."

After cutting off further communications with the committee, she instructed her secretary to refuse all further calls from the committee. She turned back to the face the brothers, the uncharacteristic satisfied smirk on her face. "That, gentlemen, is how I will handle the committee. Now, we need to get back to considering the problem of how to deal with Possible and Shego."

The brothers sat in silence, thinking, for a minute before Ken started thinking aloud. "How is Possible finding and picking targets. The prison was an obvious target, given that she wanted to free Shego. Its existence was an open secret and details of its exact location and defense wouldn't have been too hard to find. The Space Center was another obvious target given Plantain's involvement and her connection to the Center would have made getting information easy, particularly since we know she had hacked the computer system months before they struck.

"But how did she pick the listening post. Less than one hundred people knew about their mission and probably less than five hundred knew of the bases existence. Even if she found out the bases existed how did she know what its purpose was. The video shows they knew of the bases exact purpose and planned to exploit it. Could she have some outside source of information?"

Dr. Director and Will stared at each other shocked.

"Wade!" They almost shouted in unison. Seeing the confused look on Ken's face, Will explained.

"Wade Load. He was Kim's hacker and tech guy. He disappeared shortly after Kim was placed on probation."

Dr. Director picked up the explanation. "He tried to help Kim avoid probation by exposing the truth about what happened in Plantain. We managed to keep him from going public by threatening to charge him with hacking and spying. The NSA decided this was the perfect opportunity to forcibly recruit him. I warned them that was the worst thing they could do but they wouldn't listen. After they threatened Wade and his family, they all disappeared. He ghosted all of them.'

Ken looked puzzled. "Then how come I didn't hear anything about him? He wasn't even mentioned in the information I received on Possible."

Dr. Director gave a short bitter laugh. "When he ghosted his family and himself, he didn't just destroy all electronic record of their existence from every database in the world. He sent false orders that resulted destruction of almost all the hard copy records too."

"Why didn't you recreate the records from information obtained from those who knew him?"

This time Will gave a bitter laugh. "He also planted some sort of virus in every system that automatically destroyed any new records pertaining to him and his family. It apparently alerts him if there is any mention of a hard copy record too. I spent four weeks compiling all of the information we had in a hard copy only report. When I e-mailed Dr. Director that it was ready, his software must have alerted him. It was good thing I was working late that night because I managed to stop one of the records people from destroying the only copy. He had official orders from me, countersigned by Dr. Director to destroy them. Since then all reference to Mr. Load has been strictly off-line"

Ken shook his head in amazement. "No wonder the NSA wanted to recruit him. What can you tell me about him? Could he have hacked our system and found out about the listening post?"

Dr. Director sighed and she nodded. "He used to routinely hack our system and those of everyone else in the world. He would find classified data, re-task satellites, commandeer vehicles, you name it, he did it."

"Do you think Kim got in touch with him?" Ken asked.

Will shook his head. "No, I don't think even Possible could find him. Every intelligence organization in the world has looked and not found a clue."

"But if Possible was looking for information, Wade would know about it. He could have contacted her." Dr. Director added thoughtfully. "I think this is something we will have to consider. I want a review of all potential target made with the assumption that Possible knows as much about our operations as we do. I also want all information related to Possible classified internal, need to know."

The brothers were about to reply when Dr. Director's secretary interrupted, saying they needed to see the latest news reports.

Turning on the viewscreen the three were greeted by a live news broadcast from Moldova. The scene shown was of a burning warehouse with emergency trucks clustered around. At first, the reason they had been told to watch eluded them until a running banner at the bottom of the screen proclaimed the emergence of the new super hero team of Kim Possible and Shego.

The report gave a recap of how they had found an illegal prison operated by Global Justice. Rather than be exposed, Global Justice had freed several super villains they were holding illegally. In the ensuing melee, Possible and Shego managed to capture the villains and turn them over to the local authorities despite the active opposition of the Global Justice agents operating the illegal prison. The report ended with a shot of a global Justice agent being taken into custody as he raved about global security and threatening them all with prison.

Ken had a twisted grin on his face. "I guess we know where they planned on striking next."

~O~O~O~

After the problems in Moldova, Kim and Shego had chosen a target that would draw media attention but would have a low risk of them being seen. The news crews in Moldova had been incessant in their questioning about what had happened. They kept constantly asking if they were a new super hero team, what their future plans were and how they knew of the secret prison. They had only managed to get away when one of the Global Justice agents had been spotted. As he was barraged with questions, they had slipped quietly away.

Once they were safely away from the scene, they rapidly headed to the house they were renting as a temporary base. Once inside they immediately started to pack, intending to be long gone by the time Global Justice started to hunt for them.

"Kimmie, I thought Venice was bad, but those guys just wouldn't let up."

Stuffing clothes into a bag, Kim didn't even look up as she answered. "Tell me about it. At least in Venice we had a good cover story. What were we supposed to tell them this time? That we're on a secret vendetta against Global Justice and planned to expose the hidden prison we found out about when we exposed their illegal listening post. That would have gone over well."

Shego grunted in agreement and continued to pack. As soon as everything was packed and they had removed all trace of their stay, Kim contacted an old acquaintance and arranged a ride for them. Soon they were on their way to an isolated airstrip were a small cargo jet waited to take them to Africa. Once they arrived at their destination, they secured a house to use under an alias and settled in to plan the next attack.

After reviewing the information obtained from the listening post, they narrowed the list of targets down to two. The first was an ammo dump being used to supply rebels that had been disguised as a humanitarian aid mission. The second was a clinic that was using administering vaccinations as a cover to collect genetic samples for screening of potential meta-humans. After reviewing the pros and cons of both targets they decided on the ammo dump, as it would be the less likely to get them personally involved with the media.

~o~o~

Two day later, they were in a room in a rundown hotel, the only accommodations in the area. Shego lay on the bed while Kim slumped in the room's sole chair as both were exhausted from spending the day touring the town and nearby refugee camp. From talking to the locals, they knew the situation was much worse than had been reported on the news. Most of the people were on the brink of starvation, since only about a tenth of the promised food had been delivered. Officially, rebels and insurgents were said to have stolen the food but most of the people seemed to believe the aid workers had actually stolen the food. They pointed out that two barbed wire fences as well as numerous guards protected the area where the food was stored. Given all of that, they asked, how the food could have been stolen without a fight.

"Why would they do it? Why shortchange the locals on the food they promised? It's the whole reason for them being here. I would think they would want to do a great job on the aid so no one would ask questions and find the secret behind what they did. It doesn't make sense." Shego complained to the ceiling.

Wearily lift her head, Kim replied in a tired voice. "Because they're cheap. They figure no one will question what they do no matter what, so they cut spending on non-essential like food so they have more for weapons."

Shego slowly shook her head. "We need to make certain the world knows about this. I may be a villain and may have done some bad things in my life but I have never stooped as low as these people." She spat out the last word as though it were a curse.

Kim gave a tired chuckle. "I have the perfect idea. There will be no way they can deny this one."

~o~o~

The next morning the town was flooded with news crews from around the world, following the lead provided by Kim's anonymous e-mail. After the success of those who followed this sources lead regarding the affair in the desert, the hidden listening post and the illegal prison, every organization that received the e-mail or heard about it had rushed a news crew to the designated spot.

The agents running relief operation had been flooded with questions about the cause of the food shortage and rumors of secret military bases. They had replied with well-practiced answers; claiming the food had been stolen by rebels and insurgents and stating the only military presence in the area was force designated to guard the food supplies. One of the press agents had stated there was so little munitions in the area that 'if it all went up at once it would hardly make good a fireworks display'.

Kim and Shego had shared an evil laugh when they heard that particular reply. Kim had sent a second e-mail around noon instructing those who wanted a great story to have camera and film crews near the area where the food was store at 11 o'clock that night. The pair had then readied their equipment for the night and taken a short nap to insure they were fully rested.

Once the sun had set, they observed with approval a crowd of news crews standing as close to the barbed wire guarding the food as they were allowed. Shouldering their equipment, they set out into the moonless night. Circling around they approached the secure area on the side farthest from town and the gathered news crews. Knowing there were no alarms on the fences, the two easily made their way over them and separated as they entered the camp. Every guard, soldier and agent was quickly and silently rendered unconscious, then bound and gagged. After a quick sweep of the base to insure they had missed no one, they set to work. The first order of business was to transport the bound prisoners to the fence near the spot they had used to enter the base. Once that was accomplished, they placed a number of devices on timers at carefully selected locations and connecting them to various pieces of munitions.

Having finished their business in the base, they made their way to where the prisoners had been left. Cutting openings in both fences, they set about carrying the prisoner out of the camp and placing them on the far side of a small hill, out of sight of the camp. Checking their watches and finding they had ten minutes until the timers went off, Kim and Shego settled down on the side of the hill facing the camp to watch the show.

As 11 o'clock approached, the news crews grew restless, each jockeying to get the best shot of the area behind the fence. The base had been virtually depopulated as the agents on site had been called out to insure the crews maintained the proper distance from the fence. Exactly at the stroke of 11, the first timer activated. The news crew watched, as there was a small explosion in the camp. Many wondered if the was all that would happen, feeling that after the build up the actual result was rather anti-climatic, when there question was answer by another explosion followed in rapid succession by a half dozen more.

Each explosion was bigger than the last, until the final one filled the night sky with fire from a group of rockets that had raced into the heavens before exploding. Most of the news crews simply stared at the sight of the fading light from a few small fires when one of the newsmen spoke.

"If that ain't a good fireworks display I don't know what is."

The assembled news crews burst into laughter, knowing what the lead for their story would be. Within the hour, video of the event was being broadcast all over the world. Most stories feature the unfortunate press agent saying 'if it all went up at once it would hardly make good a fireworks display', followed by shots of the explosions. For the next week, the video dominated the airwaves as citizens groups, charities and governments around the world demanded to know what had happened at the base and where all the food intended for the starving locals had gone.

Kim and Shego had silly grins plastered on their faces during their entire trip home.

~O~O~O~

Ann Possible was glad when her husband left for work at the Space Center and took Jim and Tim with him. When they had been released from the hospital and told to rest for a week, they had initially rebelled against the orders and trying returning to work immediately. They had ignored both parents when they tried to order them to stay home and had only agreed to follow orders when Nan Possible put her foot down. The last week had been trying on everyone, with the twins constant whining and trying to secretly perform what they called minor experiments. Today the house was blissfully quiet, with only her and Nana home.

Her other reason for being glad was that she now had a chance to confront Nancy about what had happened to Kim. That was definitely a conversation she did not want her husband or children overhearing. When the pot of tea was finished brewing she put it on a tray with two cups and, taking a breath to steady herself for the coming confrontation with a woman she still feared, she made her way to the guestroom and knocked.

"Come in, dear. I have been waiting." The old woman's tone was polite enough but Ann knew from experience it hid a will of steel. Entering the room, she placed the tray on the small table.

"I thought we could have a cup of tea and talk about things." Ann glanced around the room surreptitiously; looking for the security measures she knew must be there, as she poured two cups and set one in front of Nancy.

"That's nice dear. You go ahead, I'm not thirsty now. What did you want to talk about?"

Ann's resolve firmed at the woman's calm, know it all attitude and she decide to confront thing head on. "I want to know why you lied to us about what happened to Kim in Plantain? Was it all some plot to remove the grandchild you couldn't control?"

Fancy's face betrayed the faintest hint of annoyance at Ann's question. "I did not lie to you about anything. I love Kim and would never do anything to hurt her. Leave." She rose and started for the door when Ann blocked her path and curtly ordered.

"Sit down. I will say when this conversation is over." A startled look on her face, Nancy swiftly resumed her seat.

"How did you do that? I haven't eaten or drank anything I did not personally check. I am certain you have not slipped me any of your Compliance serum and you don't have the resources to construct an obedience disk without my knowledge."

Ann laughed at her as she pointed at the steaming teapot. "I have improved the serum so that it can be delivered in vapor form. I improved its effects too. I now call it my ACCORD serum, ACCORD for Artificial Cortical Control for Obedience, Respect and Deference. As you breath in more of it, you will find you will vanishing until you become my willing little minion."

She gave an evil grin at the look of worry on Fancy's face. "Don't think about trying to fight the effects. If you struggle too hard I will be forced to use this." She held up a small disk covered in intricate electronics.

Nancy struggled to speak. "What is that? Some sort of new obedience disk? There is no way you could have done all of this without me knowing."

Once again Ann laughed. "You can blame yourself. You have Hench so scared of you, that when I reactivated my account he wasted no time in giving me almost unlimited credit. I used that credit to buy a new base and stock it with modern equipment. The agents you had shadowing me were easy to handle once they got a dose of ACCORD. The device is my improved obedience disk. In addition to ensuring complete control when worn, it also alters the synaptic pathways so that if worn long enough the disk is no longer required for control. I call it my MASTER disk for Modifying and Altering Synaptic Traits to Ensure Rule. If you don't want to wear one for the next couple of days I suggest you do as I say."

Nancy stared at her in horror at the implications of Ann's threat. "You wouldn't. You were never that evil. Someone would stop you."

Ann smirked at her. "You forget that the only reason you caught me was because I was in love with James. You gave me a way out of my old life. This time I am not playing a game like before, this time I am fighting for my children and I will do anything to protect them. Remember that."

Nancy stared into Ann's eyes for a moment, then looked away. "I give up. What do you want to know?"

Ann felt a brief thrill at breaking a woman the rest of the world though was unbreakable. "I want to know why you lied about what happened to Kim in Plantain?"

Nancy sighed. "I already told you, I didn't lie. My contacts in the Agency said that she and Shego interfered in an arrest of a major drug supplier with ties to Islamic terrorists. Shego deliberately took out an Apache attack helicopter piloted by US agents. The deal Betty gave them was the best that could be arranged given that they were wanted for Murder and Terrorism."

Ann shook her head and pulled out a small laptop. Pressing her thumb against the depression on the top, she waited for it to activate and once the In-terror-net logo was displayed, she called up a number of saved documents and a video file. "This document shows that Shego had rented a beach house in Plantain. This is a transcript of the Plantainian Government's request that Kim track Shego and recover a stolen artifact. This inventory report shows the item was never stolen. This is a video of the attack, taken by the one surviving Apache."

Ann clicked on the video and the women watched as the helicopter flew in towards Shego's beach house at tree top level. The saw the unprovoked attack on Kim and Shego as well as Shego's wild response. The saw her attack damage the tail assembly on second Apache and watched as the pilot lost control. The saw the Apache strafe the ground forces before launching several missile, one of which caught the main rotor of the third Apache, sending it plunging into the ground. The video ended with the pilot totally losing control of the second Apache and crashing it into the nearby jungle.

Nancy's face had grown grim as she saw video. "They lied to me. People I called friends, people I trusted with my life, lied to me. About My Granddaughter." The last three words were said with special emphasis.

She looked Ann in the face. "I swear to you, I knew nothing about this. My contacts, people I have known and trusted for decades assured me they had investigated the situation and confirmed the Plantainians account. If I had known this, I can assure you I would never have stood still for Kim being punished. I though Kim was in danger of being corrupted by Shego. They said they would use the probation to get Kim back on the right track. I was told the problems were caused by Kim being uncooperative."

Nancy Possible took a breath to steady herself, as a look that would have frightened whole squads of men came over her face. "Someone will pay for this. If it is the last thing I do before I die, I will track them down and punish them for what they did. I won't be able to do this alone and neither will you. Together we can make whoever did this pay. Will you help me?"

Ann gave her an evil grin. "You couldn't stop me if you tried." Reaching into her pocket, she passed a small vial to Nancy. "Here, take this. It is the antidote to ACCORD."

Nancy quickly downed the contents of the vial and stood up. Looking at Ann, she returned her evil grin with one of her own. "If they though dealing with a Possible and a Van Gogh was hard, wait until they have to deal with a Credible and a Molli. They won't know what hit them."

Gesturing towards the laptop. "Let's see what Jack has that we can use."

~O~O~O~

For a final target, Kim and Shego had picked a location rather low down on their list. Originally, they had decided to pass on it until Kim caught Shego downloading a movie from a torrent site. In the middle of her diatribe about not stealing and how she was hurting the artists who worked on the film, Kim had fallen silent a thoughtful look on her face. Shego had demanded to know what was going on but Kim had ignored her for several minutes until an evil grin formed on her face. After explaining her idea, Shego had agreed it would be the best possible way to get revenge.

Two days after they took out the hidden ammo dump in Africa, they were perched on hill in rural Wisconsin, overlooking a nondescript building surrounded by a chainlink fence. Although the building looked almost abandoned, they knew it had first-class automated security. Once they were certain there were no human guards on the perimeter, they waited until late in the night and made their way toward the building.

They quietly made their way to the fence, where Shego bypassed the sensors, and made their way over. Taking care to avoid motion sensors and tripwires, they approached the rear of the building. Using Kim's grapple gun they ascended to the roof and silently crept to the roof door. Deactivating the alarm, Shego cautiously opened the door and slipped inside, Kim following close behind. They made their way noiselessly down the stairs and into a corridor. After moment spent checking for alarms and sensors they silently passed down the corridor to an unmarked door. Shego disabled the alarms on the door and they passed into the room, shutting the door behind them.

As Shego kept watch, Kim made her way to the main computer console and typed briefly on the keyboard, checking to see if the covert internet link they had installed was functioning properly. Satisfied with what the screen told her, she pulled out a small flash drive and fitted it to the system. Kim again typed on the keyboard for several minutes before removing the flash drive from the computer. After a few more brief keystrokes, Kim rose and motioned to Shego. Retracing their steps the pair was soon on the hill overlooking the building again.

"Princess, how long do you think it will take them to detect the leak?" Shego inquired as they removed all trace of their presence from their temporary base camp.

Kim gave the area final once over. "It's hard to say. I would say at least a day or two, if they are monitoring torrent sites and catch it right away. If they don't find it until word of the leak reaches other sites, it could be as long as a week."

~O~O~O~

Will and Ken Du made their way through Global Justice headquarters, arriving at Dr. Director's office exactly on time for their meeting to update her on their progress in hunting down Possible and Shego. Their teams had finished the advanced hand-to-hand combat course Dr. Director had required and were currently reviewing all known information on Possible, Shego and their associates. Ken and Will, in the mean time, had been jetting around the world dealing with the fallout from Kim and Shego's attacks.

They entered the office and stood at attention in front of Dr. Director's desk, waiting for her to finish her call with the media relations team. Hanging up the phone she surveyed the brothers for a moment.

"Report. How is the situation in Africa?"

Ken spoke first. "The situation has been resolved. Global Justice only sponsored the base but did not staff it, so we were able to have the actual personnel operating the base held responsible. The story is that the supplies were sold on the black market and the proceeds used to fund the rebels. They are in custody pending their trials and the agencies they work for are being required to provide the humanitarian aid that was supposed to be there."

Dr. Director nodded as she made a note in a file. "I am certain the agencies involved will be most cooperative. If not, we will have to give them an incentive to do the right thing. What about the situation with the holding center?"

"Since the holding center was part of the Defense Against Major National and International Terrorism program, the Moldovans have been convinced to not prosecute anyone. The do however insist on all damages being repaired." Will answered crisply.

"What about the prisoner's who escaped? Who were they and why were they there?"

Will continued. "The first, Cyrus McCormick AKA the Reaper, was an extortionist working in Eastern Europe. He would demand that farmers and rural communities pay him off or he would destroy their crops."

Dr. Director looked at him questioningly. "Why was he in our custody? If he was a super villain, he should have been in a normal holding center. I see no reason why he would be classified as a terrorist and sent to that facility."

"He would use the proceeds from his crimes to payoff officials in another country to give him sanctuary, so the local officials convinced Interpol to classify him as a terrorist. That let them turn him over to us once they apprehend him."

Making a note on the pad in front of her, Dr. Director inquired. "What about the second prisoner?"

This time Ken replied. "He was Karamchand Sankar AKA the Spinner, a disgruntled former cricket player. After he was banned from cricket for an illegal action, he vowed revenge on the BCCI, which led the drive to ban him. He obtained a number of trick balls and set off on a crime spree. Most of his crimes involved attacks on cricket matches. He was captured attempting to disrupt the IPL championship game.

"The problem was that the Spinner was a Pakistani national who had been banned at the instigation of the Indian control board. It was thought that keeping him in either Indian or Pakistani custody could exacerbate the existing tension between the countries. To defuse the situation, the two governments got the CIA to claim he had terrorist ties and then turn him over to us."

Dr. Director made another note on her pad. "Very well, have them turned over the correct authorities and make certain they don't find their way back into our custody unless they are classified as super villains. Send the bill for the damages to Interpol and the CIA. What about the agent in charge of the base, Anders, what has happened with him?"

Will and Ken shared a small smile before Will answered. "Agent Anders was on detached duty from the CIA. As such, he was only supposed to be an advisor but convinced the agents on scene that as the senior agent in the field he was in command. We had a memo sent to all agents reminding them that agents on detached duty from other agencies are there as advisors only.

"Since agent Anders acted as a Global Justice agent in making command decisions and communicating with public, I invoked section 109.b subsection 4-2 and had him declared a full Global Justice agent. As such, he is subject to our disciplinary procedures and is current confined awaiting his trial."

Dr. Director favored him with a small smile of her own. "I see your brother is rubbing off on you."

"Nonsense, Dr. Director, I was merely following proper procedures." Will replied stiffly.

"What did the agency have to say about our taking over one of their people?"

Ken smirked. "When they contacted us about releasing him we pointed out that if they claimed jurisdiction over him then we would have to comply. We also pointed out that we would also have to explain to the media why he was being released and who he actually worked for. They decided we could have him."

"Good. What have you heard about Kim and Shego's latest action?" When neither brother spoke, she continued. "A week ago they broke into an archive facility that stored records of joint missions undertaken in cooperation with other agencies. The record covered a ten year period, with the latest dating to five years ago."

The brothers exchanged a worried look as she continued. "After they patched the secure network connecting our facilities into the internet they installed torrent software so the archives files were available for anyone to download. Only redacted summaries were stored on the computer system. The complete reports were stored in locked vaults which were not breached."

Will gave a sigh of relief. "That was lucky for us. If all that was available was redacted summaries, no operational details were released. Therefore, none of our agents or operations should be compromised."

Dr. Director shook her head. "If they had wanted to compromise out current operation they would have. Remember, they entered they entered the facility, planted the software and left without anyone detecting them. If we had not found out about the leaks from our monitoring of the internet we would never have known they were there."

The brothers looked slightly confused. "Then what was the point of their exercise? Were they trying to prove they could do it?" Ken asked.

Dr. Director shook her head. "No. You have to remember what Kim is after. She wants to expose us and via that exposure destroy us. If they had released the full reports, they would have every intelligence and law enforcement group in the world after them. Instead they released the redacted summaries, which had all of the sensitive data removed. Here take a look at this."

She activated the viewscreen and brought to reports up, one heavily redacted. "On the left is a copy of the full report about extracting an undercover agent from a rebel group. On the right is the redacted summary. Notice that the redacted summary has had all reference to the purpose of the mission and any details of the operation removed."

The brothers read in silence for a moment, when Ken exploded. "It reads like a kidnapping and execution. With all of the details removed there is no way to tell the mission wasn't some kind of assassination."

Will had a look of dawning comprehension on his face. "Without the details, there is no context for any of these reports. Someone reading them with a suspicious eye would see innumerable crimes. No wonder Possible and Shego went this route. They can't be accused of leaking secrets because all they made available was the redacted summaries that were meant to be released."

Ken nodded, a look of grudging admiration on his face. "It's diabolical. With all these reports made public, every group that is mentioned is going to be occupied for weeks trying to explain them. And I bet most people won't believe anything they say, figuring it to just be a further cover-up."

"Gentlemen. I won't try to sugar coat things. One or two more blows like this and we will be finished. The only reason we aren't shutdown already is because I have been able to use other groups' involvement in the exposed crimes as blackmail." The brothers were shocked to hear Dr. Director, head of Global Justice, refer to their activities as crimes. "About twelve years ago my predecessor started a policy of close cooperation with other intelligence and law enforcement agencies. When I took command, I continued that policy. That was a mistake."

Dr. Director stood from her desk and strode to the viewscreen. "Every operation that has gotten us in trouble, including the mess that started it all in Plantain, involved another agency. That stops now. I have given orders that effective immediately no further cooperation will be extended to outside agencies without my express prior approval. I have also ordered that all joint operations with outside agencies be terminated immediately."

She turned her gaze to Ken, who look about to ask a question. "The program involving the listening post will either become an internal Global Justice affair or it will be taken over by another agency. We will no longer serve as convenient fronts and dupes for every intelligence bozo in town."

Will and Ken stood in silent shock at her words. Without the cooperation of other agencies, they would have diminished resources to employ. On the other hand, they would no longer be restricted by the requests and demands of those self same agencies.

"Now for your assignment. I want you to bring Kim Possible and Shego in. I do not want them arrested and I particularly do not want either of them seriously injured. Is that understood?"

The brothers nodded as Will asked. "Why not arrested? They have broken multiple laws."

Dr. Director cut him off before he could continue. "If we arrested everyone involved in this that had broken the law, we would all be in jail. I do not want Kim arrested because I think we can still prevent her from becoming a full-blown villain. So far, her actions, while damaging us, have not hurt the general public. Don't forget that on several occasion, such as Venice and Moldova, she went out of her way to protect the public and capture the villain."

Ken nodded shrewdly. "Her not being a villain makes it easier. There are things she won't do."

Dr. Director shook her head. "No, it makes her much more dangerous. Look at how the media is hailing her and Shego as **The** new super hero team. That reputation makes it much harder to act against her and makes anything she says that much more believable. We need to convince her to stop opposing us soon or we will be destroyed."

She fixed Will with a stare. "I want you do whatever it takes to accomplish your mission. If you fail, you are fired." As he started to protest, she cut him off. "No excuses. If you had done your job of overseeing her probation correctly, we would not be in this situation. Dismissed."

~O~O~O~

**A/N – ** Thanks to only-looking for the improved DAMNIT. Bonus points if you know what Van Gogh is in reference to (hint–it is not the painter). More bonus points if you can figure out what Credible and Molli refer to (Hints–Maiden names. Nancy is not named Jen. Ann's middle name is Olivia). Answers in the next chapter Action and Reaction - 9 - Snark Hunt.


	9. Snark Hunt

**Snark Hunt**

**Disclaimer – **I don't own Kim Possible.

**A/N – **Thanks to all my readers and reviewers. Note that ~O~O~O~ indicates major shift in time and place, while ~o~o~ indicates small shifts in time or place.

This story is an AU and diverges from canon early in the fourth season before Mad Dogs and Aliens or Big Brother, so there are no Lowardians in this universe and no Hana.

Special Thanks to my new beta reader Halo17442.

Answers to the bonus from last chapter. Some people got different part, but no one got all of them and no one got the Jen reference.

1) Van Gogh is a reference to Shego's last name from failte200's masterpiece Alone, Together. In my opinion, this is the finest Kigo story ever written. It has several hundred more favorites than any other KP story of FF.n. If you have not read it, stop reading this and do so right away.

2) Credible is Nancy Possible's maiden name so she was N. Credible. The reference to her name not being Jen was to the inspiration for the name, the character of Jen Credible, from Blackbird's classic story, Maternal Instinct, which was itself inspired by NoDrogs's classic story, A Small Possibility… If you haven't read them, you should.

3) Molli is Ann Possible's maiden name so if Olivia is her middle name she was Ann O. Molli.

Chapter – 9 – Snark Hunt

The stealth hovercraft carefully made its way through the air over Georgetown, the pilot alert to every chance of being detected. Reaching its destination, the hovercraft gently settled on the roof a stately townhouse. Two figures made their way from the craft to the edge of the roof, where one of them quietly lowered a rope. The two silently descended the rope and entered the house via a second story window. Softly making their way down the hall, the taller figure stayed in the hall as the second entered. Making their way across the room, the figure sat on the bed.

"Hello, George. We need to talk."

Hearing the all too familiar voice, the man in the bed, George Ormsted, sat up and regarded her in the dim light.

"Nancy, if you wanted to talk to me you could have done it during office hours. There was no need for melodramatics." He kept his voice calm and level, making certain not to betray any of the apprehension he felt at this woman's presence in his house in the middle of the night.

"Now, George, if we talked in your office you would stand on your dignity as Deputy Director of the CIA and refuse to tell me what I want to know. Having this meeting here allows it to be just you and me, two old comrades in arms, talking off the record."

George peered at her in the gloom, trying to gauge her mood. The thought of trying to reach his weapon passed briefly through his head, only to be instantly rejected. He knew that age and retirement had not dulled her edge or her reflexes, any attempt to take action against her would probably prove fatal. Playing for time, he asked.

"What do you want to know that is so important you have to talk to me in the middle of the night?"

Nancy smiled slightly at him. "I want to know why you lied to me about what happened to my granddaughter in Plantain. What was so important you would betray the trust between us?"

George silently gulped, knowing that what he had feared for years had come to pass. Keeping his voice level, he replied. "I didn't lie to you. The agency confirmed the story the Plantianians gave us. Your granddaughter worked with the known villain Shego and took out most of anti-drug interdiction force. I did everything I could to protect her."

Nancy shook her head as she tsked at him. "I had hoped you would decide to tell me the truth for old time's sake but I was prepared if you didn't." She raised her voice. "Would you come in my dear and turn on the lights on your way."

George squinted at the sudden brightness as the lights came on. Once they had adjusted to the light, he saw the figure that had entered the room clearly and, after moment's confusion, his heart sank as he saw a nightmare long dead standing before him. The woman was tall and slim, her piercing blue eyes staring menacingly at him from behind her mask. The mask covered her entire face and melded with the formfitting bodysuit she wore, her long platinum blond hair spilling from the back of the mask. For a moment, he stared at the shifting multicolored hues of her body suit, before remembering the danger in their hypnotic pattern and tearing his eyes away.

"Brainchild, you're supposed to be dead." He turned to confront Nancy. "You said you killed her. How is she still alive? Why did you lie to me?"

Nancy tsked again. "I said I took care of her. When I offered details, you refused to maintain plausible deniability."

He stared at her in horror. "How could you let her live? You know what she did, what she is capable of –."

Nancy cut him off angrily. "Don't patronize me George. I was the one out in the field dealing with her while you sat safe in your office in Langley. I said I took care of her and I did. She hasn't been active in over twenty years. She is only doing this as a favor to me."

George's eyes shifted wildly between the two women, terror etched on his face. "What – what are you going to do to me?"

Brainchild moved toward the bed, a small disk covered in intricate electronic visible in her hand. "This is my new and improved obedience disk, the MASTER disk. Like the old model, it modifies your synaptic patterns to make you compliant but it works on a much deeper level than the old one. If I leave it on a subject for long enough, the synaptic changes become permanent."

Scrambling back in the bed, desperate to get away from the figure looming over him, George didn't see Nancy move until it was too late. She grabbed one wrist and twisted, sending him face down on the bed in pain. He struggled wildly to escape but went limp as the small disk was pressed against the back of his head. At Brainchild's command, he sat up in the bed, staring blankly into the distance.

"Now listen carefully, I want you answer Mrs. Possible's question fully and completely. Do you understand?" Brainchild's voice was low and menacing.

"Yes, mistress." George replied listlessly.

"Good." Turning and giving Nancy a wink she continued. "He is ready. Just don't ask too many questions at once. Try to be as specific as possible or his answers may go on forever."

Nancy nodded. "Did you lie to me about what happened to my granddaughter, Kim, in Plantain?"

"Yes."

"Why did you lie?"

"I had orders from the Director of the CIA to keep the truth from you."

"Do you know why he gave those orders?"

"Yes."

"Why did he give those orders?"

"He knew that if you found out the truth about what happened you would never let your granddaughter be punished."

"Why did he want my granddaughter punished?"

"There were two reasons. The first reason was to stop her meddling in Agency business. On several of her missions, she compromised important Agency operations. The second reason was because it was thought that the punishment could be used help to recruit her for either Global Justice or Agency itself."

'Did you know of the Plantainians plans to use my granddaughter to find Shego and then kill them both?"

"No."

"Did anyone at the Agency know of the Plantainians plans?"

"The agent in charge of the office in Plantain knew of the mission and helped plan it."

"What is his name?"

"Simon Arnold Patterson."

"What is his current duty station?"

"He is currently assigned to the Latin America desk at Langley."

"What was Dr. Director's involvement in what happened to my granddaughter in Plantain?"

"She got involved when your granddaughter contacted her to report the situation in Plantain. The Agency convinced her it was in her best interest to not get involved. She agreed to the plan to have your granddaughter punished."

"Are there any current plans involving my granddaughter?"

"Yes."

"What are those plans?"

"The agency wants her eliminated. They have issued orders to all stations to terminate her if the opportunity presents itself."

Restraining her urge to hit him, Nancy continued. "Why does the agency want her eliminated?"

"Her latest actions have caused the Agency a great deal of trouble."

Turning to Brainchild, Nancy inquired. "Can you think of anything else we need to know?"

Brainchild shook her head, not trusting her voice to not betray her emotions at the thought of her daughter being murdered.

"What do you think we should do with him? I know we planned to simply wipe his memory and leave him none the wiser but after hearing what the Agency has planned I really want to hurt him."

Brainchild thought for a moment, then pulled a small case from a hidden pouch at the small of her back. "I think wiping his memory is still a good idea, just a little more than we planned."

As she opened the case and took out a small vial and hypodermic, Nancy looked at her questioningly.

"I'm sure you remember my Lethe formula?" Brainchild asked, holding up the vial.

Nancy nodded, remembering several times during her hunt for Brainchild when she had woken up with a day or two of memory missing. Once she had even woken up with no memory of her current mission, which had been quite embarrassing, to say the least.

Brainchild filled the syringe from the vial. "This is a derivative of the original formula, called Oblivion. Instead of just removing short-term memory, it is capable of removing long-term memories too. I am going to give him enough to remove the last four years of his life. He took four years of Kim's life so it seems like a fair punishment to me."

Nancy stared at Brainchild for a moment, having almost forgotten just how driven and amoral she had been. "What about the counter-agent we developed? If they detect something like Lethe in his system they will probably try it."

"The new formula is undetectable after two hours of its use so they should never know it was used. Even if they do detect it, I also altered the original formula so the antidote you developed will no longer work." Without any more talk, Brainchild injected the contents of the syringe into the helpless man.

"I want you to go to sleep and not wake up until your alarm goes off." Brainchild removed the disk as soon as the man was asleep. "The disk has a residual effect that leaves the subject under its effect for about an hour after it is removed. We have plenty of time to leave undetected."

Nancy nodded as she made her way to the door, shutting off the lights. The pair rapidly made their way to the roof where they entered the hovercraft. Making certain they were not observed they flew off into the night.

~O~O~O~

'It must be dinner time.' mused Wade in the confines of his mind as he heard the guard open the small door to the box mounted on the wall of his cell, replace the old tray with a new one and close the small door. Once the guard had returned to his post, a buzzer sounded, signaling that he had thirty seconds to open the door to the box and remove the tray before the door was locked for the night. Moving swiftly he used one hand to open the door while the second slid the tray from the box. Carrying the tray to his bunk, he sat down and began to eat slowly, savoring each meager bit.

Finishing his meal, he placed the tray on the floor and lay back on his bunk, staring at the ceiling. Nowadays, whether to stare at the ceiling or the wall was the only choice he was allowed to make. Every other option had been taken from him, so he simply stared and thought. He gave a bitter inward chuckle as he thought of the irony of his situation. He was one of the five greatest hackers in the world, a wizard with computers and electronics, but, currently, he was in a cell where the most sophisticated thing was a single light bulb. His captors knew of his abilities and, therefore, had sent him to a place they would be useless.

Rather than review his slim chance for escape again, he turned his thought down another well-worn path, who was to blame for his current situation. First, of course, was Dr. Director, head of Global Justice and all around worthless lying bitch. Looking back, he could see how she and the rest of Global Justice had manipulated him as well as Kim and Ron. They were always ready with a ride or mission, but details about the background of the mission and what was really going on were conveniently not given. He wondered how many times they had been duped by GJ into helping the wrong side.

What galled him most, though, was how she had lied to and manipulated him over what happened in Plantain. It had started simply enough, a simple retrieval mission; find the bad guy, get the stolen object, throw the bad guy in jail, return the item. Simple enough that Kim decided to go on the mission alone when it turned out Ron had a family function to attend. However, as soon as Kim reached Plantain, things went wrong. All landline communications were cut and all satellite communications were being jammed. When he tried hacking systems to get access, the systems were shut down, forcing him to try another system. After six days of frantic effort, he finally commandeered a NSA spy satellite and got in visual and electronic communication with Kim again.

Once he heard Kim and Shego's stories, he immediately contacted Dr. Director, who said she would handle it. He was shocked when he found out what Dr. Director considered, handling it. He was ready to go public with what he knew in spite of the threat of criminal charges, when Dr. Director contacted him. She told him a tale that agreed with everything he knew but also gave a good reason to believe her.

There had been an artifact stolen and Shego had been blamed, but all record of it had been destroyed when it was discovered the son of a cabinet minister, who planned to hold it for ransom, had stolen the item. Rather that admit the truth to Kim they let her hunt for Shego, figuring she was wanted by so many countries, if she was captured they would find someone to take her into custody. Kim and Shego had been attacked and the attack group had followed a signal, but it was not one planted on Kim. The group was an anti-drug interdiction force and they were following the signal of a tracer they had placed in a large shipment of narcotics. They planned to raid the shipment when it was being traded for arms with a group that had ties to Islamic extremists.

Unknown to them, Shego had apparently hijacked the shipment and was planning to sell it the highest bidder. The attack group thought they were raiding a heavily armed drug trafficker and arms smuggler's compound. By the time they realized something was wrong, Shego had taken out one of the helicopters and escaped with Kim. Attempts were made over the next week to contact Kim and explain the situation, but the security blackout imposed for the drug raid made electronic communication impossible and any attempt to meet her face to face resulted in violence. When Kim had Wade contact her, that had given Dr. Director a chance to put things right.

Unfortunately, when she got in contact with Kim, she discovered that Shego had used the situation to seduce Kim and influence her. No matter what Dr. Director said, Kim refused to believe that Shego had anything to do with the attack on her house. She also refused to believe that the attack had not been specifically targeted at her too. Dr. Director said she spent hours trying to change Kim's mind but in the end had given up and simply arrested them both. Kim's story about Shego giving herself up to save Kim was more of Kim's delusion.

Dr. Director admitted that numerous mistakes had been made in the whole affair, but was pleading with him not to expose them for Kim's sake. The plan was to isolate Kim for a time, forcing her to face reality and snap her out of her delusion. Once she had returned to normal, she and Ron would be offered jobs at GJ, which would end Kim's probation. Dr. Director promised that Kim's record would be cleared once she was back to normal. Dr. Director even came up with the idea of him being threaten with hacking and spying charges in order to force him to not help Kim. At first, he had been reluctant to agree, but after seeing how Kim was acting and looking at the evidence he had been provided, he reluctantly agreed.

Of course, he now knew that the whole tale had been a careful blend of truth and lies designed to get him to make the decision they wanted. Unfortunately, by the time he did find out the truth it was too late to do much about it, thanks to the second reason he was in this situation, Kim's grandmother Nancy Possible. He wanted to believe that Nancy was being used as he was being used, but found that hard to believe.

Shortly before Kim's graduation, the NSA had started to try to recruit him, first with promise of money and cutting-edge equipment, then with threat against him and his family. He had been preparing to ghost himself, when Nancy Possible had shown up in his room one day with a proposal for him. She wanted him to work for a highly top-secret group that monitored super villain communications for the UN. He would get access to real cutting-edge tech, much of it confiscated from super villains and mad scientists, as well as being able to continue to help protect the world much as he had done when working with Kim. If he took the job, all trace of him and his family would disappear. His family would be given new identities and relocated while he went to work at his new job.

When he had asked for proof that the people he would be working with were on his level, Nancy had chuckled and told him to check a specific file on his system. When he did so he found a single line added at the end, 'Gotcha'. He almost couldn't believe that someone had hacked his system and done so without be detected. After a moment's thought, he had accepted the job.

As soon as he saw the equipment he would be working with, he knew he had made the right decision. Most of it was so cutting-edge, it would normally only be seen as a prototype in an R&D lab, but here it was in everyday use. The rest of the equipment was so advanced it could only have come from super villains and mad scientists. After week's worth of orientation, he had dived in to studying and using his new equipment. He rapidly learned the ins and outs of the equipment and the people he was working with. The people fell into three groups; what he called the drones, the normal workers who would probably be standouts anywhere else but here were simply normal, the one-hit wonders, who were the best in the world at one thing only and terrible at anything else and the last group, his group, the five all around geniuses who ran circle around everyone else.

For months, he had reveled in the novelty of working with people as smart as he was and dealing with some of the toughest problems in the world. They were regularly required to break some of the toughest encryption on the planet and then develop AI programs to scan the encrypted data for relevant information. He had been shocked when he realized they were actually hacking the In-terror-net itself. The In-terror-net was supposed to be unhackable and no one was known to have cracked it. Even he had tried that once or twice while working with Kim but had gotten nowhere. Soon, he started to wonder what was done with all this information they obtained. It seemed to him that someone like Global Justice could use this information to cripple most super villain operations, particularly the more public ones like Hench Co.

That had been when the job lost its appeal. Any attempts to ask questions were met with silence followed by subtle retaliation. Unwanted job assignments, equipment failures that only affected your work, a change to less desirable quarters, they had many ways to punish. If someone pushed too far, an accident would be arranged, not necessarily fatal, to teach everyone a lesson. He rubbed his leg in unconscious memory at the faulty beam that had collapsed and broken his right leg after he had pushed to find out what was done with the intelligence they gathered.

He had quickly learned to keep his mouth shut and his head down. He had started to research past events, which is how he discovered the truth about what had happened in Plantain. He had created a hidden file of all the secrets he could find, being careful to prevent anyone from knowing of its existence. Slowly, over the next few months, he had filled the file with occasions where they had known of a super villain attack in advance and done nothing about it, times when reports to various agencies had been 'edited' to provoke a reaction and detailed accounts of records altered and deleted for no official purpose.

The next several years had been a slow, danger-filled nightmare. Always afraid of being discovered, constantly worried for his family's safety; he had lost his happy go lucky manner and become a quiet and somber recluse. He only left his room to go to work, spending all of his free time either brooding over his situation or mindlessly playing video games to distract himself. He had been well on his way to losing all hope or ambition and becoming nothing more than an empty shell when he had seen a report on Dr. Director's encounter with Kim at Smarty Mart.

Knowing that Kim was still fighting, even after all she had been through, inspired him to keep fighting. His first thought was to ask for her help in escaping his predicament but he discarded that idea quickly. Kim had her own problems to deal with and did not need him running to her with his, particularly when they were self-made ones. In addition, a small part of him wondered if he wasn't being used to set Kim up again. The logical part of him knew it was crazy, but another part of him still felt like it had betrayed her all those years ago and didn't want to do so again.

He decided to help Kim without her knowledge. His first action was to hack into and modify Condor's old AUNT system. He installed a variety of tools to allow it greater access to Global Justice records and to prevent it from being detected. Once that was finished, he started to run his own custom scans on the data they received at work, hoping to find a lead on who was behind the operation he was trapped in and what its purpose was.

He had been shocked to the core when he had found the message from Brainchild on one of the In-terror-net forums. Her real identity was one of the many secrets he had uncovered and hidden away but he never expected her to become active again. Hope had grown in him, if Kim's mom was still active perhaps he could get her a message. She might be able to find him and rescue him. He had been crafting a carefully concealed message to send to Brainchild when they had broken into his room and dragged him to this cell.

He had been strip searched, given an orange jumpsuit and thrown in this cell. Since then there had been no attempt to question him and he was allowed no contact with the world outside his cell. Sometimes he wondered why they didn't just kill him, were they afraid of angering Nancy Possible or did they have some future use for him.

As the light in his cell dimmed, he stopped his fruitless quest for answers and turned over to sleep.

~O~O~O~

Irritation growing, he glanced at the clock on the wall of his communication room. The meeting should have ended over an hour ago but Mask still had not reported in. Taking a calming breath, he reminded himself that Mask could not leave the meeting early without arousing suspicion and, given the Agency's normal reaction to unplanned events, he could very well be trapped there until they had talked the problem to death. He gave a silent sigh as the communicator activated.

"Report."

A grey haired man of middle age with a bushy mustache, Mask's normal cover in the Agency, stared at him from the screen of the communicator, a slightly worried look on his face. "Master, it as you predicted, Dr. Director has taken Global Justice independent. She is using her knowledge of various past misdeeds to insure her organization's continued existence and independence."

He gave a small, almost imperceptible smile. "Good. At the very time when she most needs the cooperation of other agencies, she has cut herself of from their help. This will aid my plan greatly." Noticing the growing look of worry on Mask's face, a hint of worry started to grow in his mind. "What is it?"

Involuntarily flinching at his master's tone, Mask swallowed nervously. "There has been an incident at the Agency, Master. I am not certain what it means, but I believe it is serious.'

He gave Mask a small nod. "Continue."

"Two days ago, the Deputy Director of the Agency, George Olmsted, experienced an . . . event."

"What sort of event." He asked, his impatience growing.

"He lost a large portion of his memory, Master. Medical test can find no organic cause for it and no drugs were detected in his system. The Agency could find no sign of his having been affected by any known memory altering device." Looking relieved to have finally explained the problem to his master, he waited for a reply.

"What is the extent of the loss?" He kept the worry that was growing in his mind from showing in his voice.

"He lost all memory of a little over the last four years of his life. Extensive tests show that his memory of events before that is normal. It's like someone simply wiped the last four years from his mind." Confusion at the situation and its cause was plain to see on Mask's face.

He sat in stunned silence for several moments as a cold fear, a fear he had not felt for almost twenty years, gripped his heart. How could he not have seen this coming? Once Possible became involved, he should have known something like this would happen. Had he underestimated his enemy? His thoughts were interrupted by Mask's nervous query.

"Master, what action should I take about this situation? The Director of the Agency –."

"Silence!" His questions cut off by the angry reply, Mask's face grew pale at the unprecedented show of emotion by his master.

He sat in brooding thought, unaware of his surroundings, for several minutes as he reviewed his plan. When his initial plan had failed after five years of hard work, he had retreated to take stock of his life and his ambitions. In those lonely months, he had found some hard truths. He had been too impatient for success, unwilling to wait before he tasted the fruits of victory. Because of that impatience, he had failed to plan for setbacks and assumed that all of his schemes would automatically succeed. That arrogance had led him to underestimate his opponents and one driven young woman in particular.

When he had first encountered her, she seemed the perfect tool with which to implement his plan. He had molded and manipulated her from afar; using her for his own ends without her knowledge, until one day, she discovered the truth. She had not just stopped working for him she had actively opposed him. With unbelievable ease, she had danced across the world; foiling his plans, undermining his influence and sabotaging his network of agents, all with a smile on her face and laugh for those who tried to oppose her.

By the time she was finally dealt with it was too late, his plans lay in ruins, his influence gone and his carefully crafted network of agents in tatters. When, years later, he had discovered the truth of her disappearance, he forbade taking revenge in order not to draw attention to himself. As the years passed and his new plan came to fruition, concern for her fell to the back of his mind. Even when her daughter was caught up in one element of his plan, he chose to ignore her and the threat she represented, secure in the thought that she was no threat.

Examining his feeling honestly, he saw that once again arrogance had led him into error. He not only didn't think she was a threat, he wanted her to see his triumph and know that she had been bested. He had taken delight in the thought of her reaction when she discovered he had executed his plan under her very nose. If he wished to salvage his plan before it was too late, he would have to take drastic action.

Raising his head, he regarded Mask for a moment. "You have new orders. I want all connection between our organization and the Agency eliminated. I want no trace to show we were ever associated with them. I also want all evidence of our involvement in Plantain removed."

"Master, I do not understand. The Agency is counting on our support. Cutting all ties with them will be difficult enough but removing all trace will be almost impossible." Mask's expression and voice betrayed his confusion.

He regarded Mask in silence for a moment before deciding to take him into his confidence, a little at least. "You have to understand the danger of what we are facing. Have you ever heard of Brainchild?"

Mask thought for a moment, wondering at the relevance of the question but not daring to question it. "She was a social activist super villain from about twenty years ago, wasn't she?"

"She was much more than that; she was master of manipulation and mind control. It was not public knowledge at the time but she regularly manipulated heads of state for her own ends. She was one of the most wanted people on the planet, hunted by every law enforcement and intelligence agency in the world, but none of them ever came close to stopping her. Eventually the Agency was successful in stopping her, but only by returning their best agent, Nancy Possible, to the field. Even then, it took Possible almost year to stop her.

"Everyone assumed she had been killed, since she simply disappeared without a trace one day. The truth is known to only a handful of people. Just before her disappearance, she had met and fallen in love with a young scientist named James Timothy Possible." Seeing the look of comprehension flooding mask's face, he continued. "That is right, the villain known as Brainchild is Ann Possible. When Nancy Possible discovered she was in love with her son, she arranged for her to disappear and assume a new life."

He took a moment to consider how much to tell Mask. "Recently, due to the situation with her daughter, she started using her old contacts to find out what had really happened in Plantain. At the time, I did not regard that as serious and dismissed her as a threat. That was a mistake." He saw the startled look on Mask's face at his admission of error. "Remember, one who will not admit a mistake is doomed to repeat it. I assumed Ann was using her old contacts for information purposes only, I never considered she would become Brainchild again for real. The situation with Ormsted shows that I was wrong. Have you ever heard of Lethe?"

"That is one of the drugs the Agency mentioned testing for. The even administered the antidote on the off chance it would work but it didn't." Mask answered calmly, his respect for his master growing at his easy admission of error.

"Lethe was a drug used by Brainchild that wiped out short term memory. In the original form, it could remove up to five or six day's worth of memories. I believe she used an improved version to remove part of Ormsted's long term memory."

"Forgive me for asking, Master." A measure of Mask's normal obsequiousness returning. "But how do you know it was Brainchild that wiped his memory? If the original formula only removed short-term memory isn't it a bit of a leap to assume she could develop a new version to remove long-term memory in such a short time?"

He gave slight nod to indicate his pleasure at the question. "Brainchild was a master at mind control and manipulation. For the last twenty years, what has Ann Possible done?" He saw the look of startled comprehension come over Mask's face. "For the last twenty years Ann Possible has been one of the finest brain surgeons on the planet. With her experience as a doctor added to her experience as a super villain, I believe she could easily modify her Lethe formula in the time she had. There is probably no person on the planet who knows more about the brain and its manipulation than her."

He considered Mask for a moment. "There are two other relevant points you have overlooked."

"What are they, Master?" Mask hurried to ask.

"The first is that George Ormsted was Nancy Possible's old control officer and her major contact in the Agency. As such, he was the one who sold Nancy Possible on the truth of what happened in Plantain. The second is the amount of memory removed. Four years is just about the amount of time since Kim Possible and Shego were apprehended in Plantain. I believe that Nancy Possible and Brainchild questioned Ormsted to discover the truth about Plantain and then took four years of his life in exchange for the four years taken from Kim Possible."

Mask nodded. "As always, your logic is flawless, Master. What should I do if I encounter Nancy or Ann Possible? Do your orders to eliminate them stand?"

He gave a slight shake of his head. "No. If you encounter them, you are to take no action against them. While Nancy Possible may not be in her prime, she is still a formidable opponent but you could probably take her if she was alone. If she were with Brainchild, you would stand no chance at all. Do not underestimate Brainchild because of her age or her long hiatus from action. She is probably one of the most dangerous people on the planet. In some ways, she is even more dangerous than her daughter or Shego."

Mask nodded his understand, a shiver of fright racing down his spine at the thought of encountering a person his master thought was more of a threat than Shego or Kim Possible.

He dismissed Mask to carry out his orders and then started to make a series of calls to other agents around the world. He would need to drastically change his plan, and quickly, if he was to have a hope of success. He found himself having to suppress the urge to hum and realized that the prospect of finally defeating Brainchild in an open contest gave him more pleasure than the old idea of beating her without her knowledge. Every cloud has a silver lining, he mused as he called the next agent.

~O~O~O~

As the first light of dawn appeared over the shoulder of Mt. Yamanouchi, Ron Stoppable made his way to the center of the garden and, easily dropping into lotus position, started his meditation. On most mornings there would have been several others in the garden meditating, but this morning he was left alone to prepare. Today marked the date he would take his last test. If he passed, he would have proved his mastery of Tai Sheng Pek Kwar and his fitness to be Master Sensei's heir and successor.

He suppressed a soft chuckle at the unlikelihood of him becoming Sensei's heir, particularly when you considered his abilities when he first returned here, just after high school graduation. Sensei had felt his confusion and hurt after he left Middleton and sent Yori to find him and bring him back to Yamanouchi. With everything that had happened with Kim and her probation, he had been even more distracted and unfocused than during his original stay. Instead of the long talk full of mystic sayings and Zen wisdom he couldn't understand that he had expected to receive, he had been set a course of lessons from sunrise to sunset.

It was after three weeks of failure at all of his lessons that the first breakthrough had occurred. One of the students had been teasing him about his ineptitude when he went too far and mentioned how Ron must not be much of a man if he could not keep Kim. Luckily, the student easily dodged Ron's enraged blow for the rock wall Ron hit instead was destroyed in a flash of blue. The rest of the class had scrambled away from him as Yori had approached.

"Stoppable-san. Master Sensei requires your presence." Turning she had led Ron to the rear garden where Sensei floated serenely in mid-air, meditating.

"Sensei, I'm sorry about the wall. I don't know what happened. One of the students was teasing me and I asked him to stop but he wouldn't and I finally lost my temper and struck out. I missed him but the wall was destroyed. Please don't send me away; this is the only home I have." Ron had babbled breathlessly, unshed tears filling his eyes when he finished.

Sensei had turned a compassionate eye to him. "Do not worry, Stoppable-san. I will not be sending you away, for today is not a day of shame but a day of victory. Today you touched a new aspect of the Mystic Monkey Power."

Ron looked baffled. "Then you're not mad about the wall? And what do you mean new aspect of the power?"

Sensei lower gently to the ground and motioned for Ron and Yori to walk with him. "You say you warned the other student to stop teasing you?"

Ron rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, yea, Sensei. I just want –."

"No matter." Sensei's calm answer cut him off. "He was warned to stop and did not. He must pay the price for his action. If one provokes a lion, one may not blame the lion for its attack. Yori, see to it that the student in question repairs the wall."

As Yori walked off after giving a small bow, Sensei motioned for Ron to join him on a low stone bench. "I am certain you have many questions, Stoppable-san."

Ron looked slightly bewildered, having expected to be reprimanded for his action and not understanding why he was not. "Um, no offense, Sensei, but I don't understand anything that has happened lately. Nothing in my life has made sense since Kim went to Plantain. I thought coming here would help but I am just as confused as before."

Sensei nodded sagely. "I cannot help with your unfinished business with Kimberly except to point out that it is unfinished. Neither you nor Kimberly were allowed to work out things between you and until you have a chance to do that, it will remain unfinished. All I can recommend is that you put off worrying about it until you have a chance to deal with it with Kimberly. Until you do stop worrying you will be stuck exactly where you are now."

Ron nodded desultorily as Sensei continued. "Your stay here at Yamanouchi has been designed to distract you from your problems and to prepare you for your future. Today you showed you are ready to take the first steps on you path, you used a new aspect of the Mystic Monkey Power."

Ron stared at the garden in silence for a moment. "No offense, Sensei, but I don't think using the power in a fit of anger is all that much progress. I mean, I have been trying for years to harness the power and it has never worked."

Sensei laughed. "Stoppable-san, you must understand, the Mystic Monkey Power has many aspects. You have been using one aspect, the Running Monkey, since you first obtained the power. Today, when you struck the wall, you used the Angry Monkey aspect. This is the first time you have used a different aspect despite the numerous dangers you have faced. This is a sign that you are ready to learn to use all of the aspects of the Mystic Monkey Power."

Ron looked a Sensei with a look of amazement on his face. "You mean I have been using the Mystic Monkey Power for years to run away from danger?"

Once again Sensei laughed. "Yes, Stoppable-san. Do not be shocked, one of the hardest lessons for most students to learn is that there is a time to fight and a time to run. This is a lesson you have already mastered."

Starting that day Sensei, Yori and several advanced students had tutored Ron in the differing aspects of the Mystic Monkey Power. His progress had been slow at first but as his confidence grew so did his mastery of the power. He had gone from the school fool, who could not do anything, to the head of the class, the person who had become unstoppable. On a personal level, his life had improved vastly as he and Yori had started dating. Passing his final test would make their engagement official. The one dark spot in his life was concern for Rufus's health. He was impossibly old for a naked mole rat and his age was starting to catch up to him.

Taking a breath, Ron rose from his meditations, knowing that the time for his final test had come. As he approached the main courtyard, he was met by Sensei.

"Stoppable-san, are you ready?"

"Yes."

~o~o~

It was almost time for the evening meal but most of the students were still crowded in the main courtyard, congratulating the new heir to the leadership of Yamanouchi, Ron Stoppable. The crowd parted as Sensei, trailed by Yori, made their way to him.

Ron gave a short bow. "Greetings, Sensei."

Sensei gave an equally short bow. "Greetings, Stoppable-san. I dislike cutting your celebration short but a situation has arisen that requires your attention."

Ron's face grew somber, knowing the situation must be grave to cause Sensei to interrupt like this. Making his goodbyes, Ron followed Sensei to his office, where he and Yori sat on the floor while Sensei took his place on the dais.

"Stoppable-san, recently we received a prophecy of dark things to come. It seems you will be needed to stop it."

Ron bowed his head. "As you wish, Sensei. What did the prophecy say?"

"Storm clouds gather in the twilight.

Darkness soon will engulf the world

Only the impossible and the unstoppable

Can find the daughter of mind and the son of machine

And lead them to the world salvation"

Ron's face remained calm, but inwardly, the short verse had started a slow panic in his mind. "Sensei, do you think this means I will need Kim's help with this crisis?"

Sensing Ron's inner turmoil, Sensei reassured him. "That is one possible meaning of the prophecy but do not blind yourself to other possible meanings. You must keep you mind open and unclouded if you are to save the world from the danger that threatens it."

Ron nodded. "When do I leave?"

"You and Yori will leave in the morning."

~O~O~O~


	10. Demons of the Night

**Demons of the Night**

**Disclaimer – **I don't own Kim Possible.

**A/N – **Thanks to all my readers and reviewers. Note that ~O~O~O~ indicates major shift in time and place, while ~o~o~ indicates small shifts in time or place.

Sorry this chapter took so long, but it was a real bear to write in addition to being my longest chapter so far. This chapter is complex, with flashbacks within flashbacks. It also contains dreams and fantasies that blend into reality. Hope it is not too confusing.

This story is an AU and diverges from canon early in the fourth season before Mad Dogs and Aliens or Big Brother, so there are no Lowardians in this universe and no Hana.

Special thanks to my beta reader Halo17442.

*****Voting for the Fannies is open. Please vote for your favorite stories and authors.*****

Chapter – 10 – Demons of the Night

When they had first returned to the Aerie, Kim had been all bubbly and happy, constantly checking the news for updates about the Global Justice scandal but her mood had soon dimmed as it became evident that the scandals were fading instead of growing. Shego had simply ignored her for the first few days, expecting her to snap out of her funk soon enough.

When that didn't happen, she decided she needed to do something. The next day, after her favorite comedy, Unlawful Brains, was finished, she went down to the computer room where she found Kim brooding over the latest news reports.

"OK, princess, you need to stop staring at those reports and start doing something. Sitting here in the dark isn't good for you." She kept her voice light, disguising her concern.

"Why? Betty will just make everything go away no matter what we do. Maybe we should just give up. It looks like we can't win." Kim's voice was dull and listless.

"Look here, pumpkin, I don't know what you expected but so far we have hurt old Betts more than anyone ever has. I think she is hanging on by the skin of her teeth. One or two more blows and she should fall and take GJ with her." Shego sounded more confident than she felt, desperate to cheer Kim up.

Kim looked at her with tired dead eyes. "No it won't. Betty will just weasel out of trouble like she has so far. Nothing that we have done had affected her in the slightest."

Shego grabbed Kim's shoulders and shook her. "Look here cupcake, I don't know what has gotten into you but you need to stop spouting defeatist crap and look at reality."

Kim's expression didn't change. "I am looking at reality. They covered up the prison break without problem, they blamed the satellite on the old government of Plantain, all the hearings about the listening post came to nothing and the illegal prison, arms depot and mission files were all blamed on other agencies. We haven't hurt Betty or Global Justice at all."

Shego's frown deepened, she hadn't realized Kim was so depressed. All those years on probation must have affected her more than she let on. "Kim, you aren't looking at the situation from the right perspective." Kim opened her mouth to speak but Shego didn't give her a chance to speak. "Sure, Betty covered up my prison break, what did you expect? But it got her a lot of unwelcome publicity."

She released Kim and started to tick items off on her fingers. "She had to use some of her influence to cover up the prison break. She got lucky there was a coup in Plantain so she could blame the old government for the problem but again she got a lot of bad publicity and had to use favors to cover it up."

Shego started to pace, gesturing to emphasis her points. "When we exposed the listening post, we caused a worldwide scandal. Pumpkin, they held hearings in the UN, there was almost a shooting incident when seven nations showed up and Turkey withdrew from the treaty authorizing Global Justice. Even Communist China hasn't done that."

Kim started to speak. "But that all went away -."

Shego glared at her. "Don't start with that, Kimmie. Sure Betty managed to keep the UN and governments from shutting her down but she still has news crews asking questions of every GJ agent in the world. She managed to blame the prison, the fake famine relief project and the leaked archives on other agencies but that pretty much destroyed any support she had from other intelligence and law enforcement agencies."

Shego took a deep breath and looked Kim directly in the eyes. "Believe me, Princess, Betty is about to fall. She has no support from other groups and has probably used up every favor she ever had. If we hit her one or two more times, she won't have the ability to cover-up or make it go away. Then she will have to face the music for her actions."

Kim looked searchingly into Shego's eyes for a minute before letting out a long sigh. "I guess you're right, sweetie, but it just seems that every time we do something it has no effect. I guess I was hoping for thinks to move faster."

Shego held Kim's eyes. "Don't give me that defeatist crap, Kimmie. Where is the girl who endured three years of isolation and harassment before setting her plan for revenge into motion? Where is the girl who survived everything that happened in Plantain?" She smiled softly at Kim. "Where is the girl who can do anything?"

Kim searched Shego's face for a moment, then returned her smile. "I guess you are right. I need to get off my butt and back into action."

Shego laughed and clapped her on the shoulder. "I have the perfect thing. You haven't worked out in over a week, so how about we see if you can finally beat me."

Kim returned her laughed as she followed her up the stairs. "Don't you mean we can see if you can finally beat me?"

~O~O~O~

Wade was jarred awake by the door to his cell being slammed open. Before he was fully awake, four men had grabbed him and fitted him with body shackles. Once he was secured, they escorted him from the room and down the corridor towards the research area. Entering the area they made their way to a door labeled Computer-Human Augmentation and entered. Several technicians in masks and gowns worked at items in the room, while a tall, thin man with thick eyeglasses greeted them.

'Good, good. Place the subject on the table and help the nurses secure him." The man's voice was high and nasally, his tone almost gleeful.

The guards placed him on the table and helped the nursed to secure him with straps across his arms, legs and body. They then held his head motionless as it was clamped into place. After checking that Wade was secure, the man dismissed the guards.

"Do you know what we do here?" the man peered owlishly at Wade, a twisted smile playing across his thin lips.

"You are working on creating a direct mind-machine interface. The goal is to augment the human brain with computers. What's the matter, haven't had any success so they sent you me to experiment on, now that I'm expendable?" Wade tried to keep the fear from his voice. The thought of having his brain modified, and probably destroyed, had him trembling in dread.

Shaking his head, the man admonished him. "Such arrogance, to think we would settle for something as trivial as directly controlling a computer with the human mind. What would it get you? A way to save typing? You would still need programs to convert the computer data into readable form. You would still have to create programs the old-fashioned way, one line at a time. We solved that problem years ago and it was not worth the effort.

"No, what we do here us much more useful. We use a human mind to augment a computer. The human brain is one of the finest computing devices ever created. It can recognize a face it hasn't seen in years in under a second while the fastest supercomputers take minutes or hours to do the same task and they don't do it as well. By linking the brain to a computer, we can allow the computer to use the brains unique abilities."

Wade stared at the man for a moment. "So, I get to be the latest guinea pig for your experiments. I suppose this is their way of sentencing me to death without really sentencing me, so they can claim they were innocent. Go ahead, I'm not afraid."

The man chuckled as he leaned forward. "Still such arrogance, to think that we would have failed for so long. The process has been perfected for several years now. In fact, our devices power some of the equipment you have been using. Your life is in no danger from our procedure. In fact, we saved your life by having you used in our program."

He chuckled again at Wade's skeptical expression. "It is true. They were going to kill you out of hand, but, when I learned of your fate, I argued strenuously for your transfer to our program instead. A brain like yours should not just be thrown out; it should be utilized where it can do the most good. Most of the brains we use are adequate but lack the special training that would make them truly effective. Your brain, on the other hand, is one of the best in the world and has been trained by a lifetime of hacking in just the special qualities and skills we require."

The man gestured to one of his assistants, who placed a mask over Wade's face. "You will be the crowning achievement of this program."

Those were the last words Wade heard as the anesthesia started to take affect and he slipped into unconsciousness.

~O~O~O~

Shego and Kim dropped soundlessly from the ventilation duct to the floor of the hallway. They quickly and quietly made their way along the darkened corridors of the half abandoned Global Justice base, growing ever nearer their target. Soon, they had reached their destination and were confronted by the Du brothers standing guard. The brothers gave them looks of feral hate and leapt to the attack. The fight was short, Ken sinking to the ground choking from Shego's knife hand to the throat as Will slid down the wall his head had just impacted with a sickening crunch from Kim's roundhouse kick.

A moments work on the keypad next to the door and they were in the room, grabbing Dr. Director and lashing her to the chair. Betty stared at them, wide-eyed with fear, her eyes shifting from one to the other without pause. Kim bent over to put her face at Dr. Director's level.

"Now, Betty, you have something I want. I hope you will be a good girl and give it to me." Kim's voice was low, menacing and sexy.

Betty stared her straight in the eye, her face a mask of determination. "I will never give in to you no matter what you do to me."

Kim chuckled. "Oh, you will, Betty, you will. And don't think you flunkies will come save you. They won't be waking up for a long time, if ever."

Dr. Director stared at her with defiance written on her face. "It doesn't matter. I will never break."

Kim gave her a sweet, evil little smile. "Now, Betty, we decided to eliminate all the running around to find and expose your secrets. We want your passwords to the Global Justice master archive. We are going to download the whole thing and post it on the internet. Once that is done, you will be finished."

Dr. Director gave a short humorless laugh. "There are no passwords. The system uses biometric security. Without my fingerprints, retinal patterns and genetic code, no one can get access."

Kim's hair hide half her face but still allowed the broad demonic smile to be seen. "Good, that means a finger and an eye are all we need." Kim pulled a knife from her belt and raised it to Betty's eye level as she moved towards her.

"NO!" Shego shot bolt upright in bed, her eyes wide with fear and her body soaked with sweat. Taking a deep breath, Shego muttered 'It was only a dream' to herself over and over, as she waited for her racing heart to slow. Climbing to her feet she started to pace concern etched on her face. This was the second day in a row and the fourth in the last two weeks she had woken up screaming from a nightmare about Kim becoming evil. She might have been able to dismiss the first few as a reaction to everything that was happening and pretend things were all right but now, with the second in as many nights, she had to admit things were serious.

Once her heart had stopped racing and her hands had stopped shaking, she made her way down to the main level of the Aerie and sat on one of the couches, looking out into the darkness. Much as she hated to admit it, especially to herself, she was worried about Kim. Ever since her pep talk, Kim had spent almost all of her time working on finding a weakness in GJ to exploit. The first few days hadn't been too bad, Kim had limited her time in the computer room to five or six hours and spent the rest with Shego, sparing or watching TV, but that had soon changed and now Kim was spending ten to twelve hours a day in working on plans to attack GJ.

What bothered Shego the most was the look on Kim's face, a look she had first seen in Plantain. She had seen it again during her prison break but had let it slip her mind in all the excitement since then. A shiver ran through Shego and she hugged herself tight as the memory returned to her unbidden.

It had been their third day on the run after the assault on them at the beach house. They had spent the three days running and hiding from the troops that flooded the jungle in search of them. They had removed the tracker almost immediately after escaping the beach but still the searchers seemed to know exactly where to find them. At first, they had used Shego's Ducati motorcycle for transportation but had ditched it when they realized there would be no quick escape from the troops. Since then they had traveled on foot or hitched a ride on a passing truck.

Currently they were hidden in the jungle canopy observing a small village. The village sat on the crossroads of three main roads and was the obvious place for command post. Kim and Shego were hoping to find a group of officers and eavesdrop on them in the hopes of learning their plans. Until they showed up there was nothing to do but stay hidden and wait.

They had spent a lot of the time hiding in the jungle waiting for a patrol to pass or resting, some of the time was spent in trying to reach the nearest border but the main thing they did was argue. Shego didn't know what was more annoying, the fact that Kim would argue with her about everything or the fact that Kim was right so often. When Shego had wanted to head for the nearest city, Kim had pointed out that neither of them looked like a local and would stick out like a sore thumb. When she had wanted to use the Ducati to try to outrun the troops, Kim had pointed out that they could outrun the troops but not the radio. When Shego got mad and wanted to take out a bunch of the troops, to teach them a lesson, Kim had pointed out that most of the troops seemed to be going through the motions but if a bunch of them got hurt, their comrades would be highly motivated to try to find them.

She looked over at Kim, who was curled up in the fork of a tree, apparently dead to the world. She knew Kim would be instantly awake and alert if there was any change in the situation. She envied Kim's ability to sleep anywhere but in spite of her own fatigue, she refused to sleep herself. She counted on her comet-spawned metabolism to allow her to get by with the few dreamless catnaps she would allow herself, particularly with Kim around. There was no way she would let Kim know about her nightmares, Kim would pry and ask questions until she got the truth and then she would offer sympathy and pity. Shego had had enough pity to last a lifetime; she didn't need any more, especially from her arch-nemesis.

Shego sighed silently, in all her wildest dreams she had never imagined she would be on the run from the authorities with Kim Possible at her side. She had known Kim was a good fighter and great at stopping super-villains but she hadn't thought she would be tough enough to for what they were going through. She glanced at the thin, wiry body resting next to her and remembered the scars that marked it.

Immediately after the assault on her beach house, they had mounted her ATV and sped off into the jungle. Shego had taken a twisting maze of turns down jungle trails before she doubled back on herself and drove the ATV off the trail and through a veil of hanging vines. Shego had wheeled the ATV into the small cave behind the vines and down a short passage. Shego had leapt from the ATV and gone to a set of lockers on the far wall. She had started pulling a variety of clothes from a locker.

"OK, Kimmie, strip."

Kim had looked at her stunned. "What are you talking about? Why –."

Shego threw a plastic bag to her. "We don't have time, princess. They must have some kind of tracker on you. Put everything you have in the bag. **Everything. **I should have some clothes that fit."

She threw a pile of clothes on the ground near Kim and started to pull off her swimsuit. She threw the swimsuit into the plastic bag and snuck a look at Kim to see if she was following orders. Kim had removed her shirt and bra and was pulling down her pants but what caught Shego's eye was the network of scars that covered Kim's body. She knew Kim had scars from near misses on her hands and arms but she never realized that her entire body was covered with them. She wondered what could motivate someone to keep doing what Kim did, if it resulted in such injuries.

Shego abruptly turned and started to get dressed in her new clothes after she found herself admiring the play off muscles in Kim's back and legs as she bent to place her clothes in the bag. It was bad enough to be stuck with the do-gooder for now; she didn't need to start crushing on her too. No lusting after the underage hero she admonished herself. A perverse part of her replied, 'She's seventeen and definitely a woman –.' She cut the thought off before it could continue; 'Even so, she's still a hero, my arch-nemesis. So, no naughty thoughts, got it.' She must be going crazy, talking to herself.

Once they were both dressed, Kim had held out her Kimmunicator. "What about this? I don't want to leave it behind, it's my one means of contact with the outside world."

Shego thought for a moment then opened another locker and handed her a small pouch. "Here, use this Faraday bag. It should block any tracking signal. If not, that thing will have to go." Kim nodded as she stuffed the Kimmunicator in the pouch and sealed it. Shego grabbed the plastic bag and tied it closed, then led the way to her Ducati.

Since then Shego had been impressed with how Kim had handled the situation. Once she got her bearings, she had tackled it with the same annoying, 'Anything is Possible for a Possible', spirit that she always had. Shego turned her head to look down one of the roads as Kim's eyes snapped open. From the sounds, a convoy of trucks was approaching.

Soon the trucks had entered the village along with a large, expensive car with an officer in a full dress uniform covered in gold braid. The troop had piled out of the trucks and drawn up in formation near the car. Once they were assembled, the man rose and exhorted his men to find and eliminate the menace to their glorious country before they reached the rebels. Once he was finished, he sat down again and the troops returned to their trucks.

One it was evident that the troops already had their assignments Shego had leaned over to whisper to Kim. "We should grab him once the troops are gone and question him."

Kim shook her head. "No, he will never talk."

Shego gave and evil grin and held up one plasma wreathed hand. "Don't worry, Kimmie, he'll talk."

Kim frowned at her. "No, we are not going to torture him."

Their fight was interrupted by the officer who, once the troops had left the village, started yelling to one of his men to round up some of the young girls from the village for his entertainment. Kim and Shego had shared a single hard look before leaping to the ground. In under a minute the soldiers were lying in scattered heaps and the officer was bound and gagged. Shego slung him over her shoulder and she and Kim set off into the jungle.

Once they were well out of earshot of the village and any nearby road, they stopped and untied the man before binding him between two trees. As soon as his gag was removed, he started to bluster and threaten.

"You had better release me or you will suffer as you never dreamed possible. Surrender to me and I will spare your lives." A lecherous grin spread across his face as he looked at them. "As a matter of fact, if you two are particularly cooperative, I will reward –."

His speech was cut off by Shego's fist burying itself in his stomach. For the next hour, Shego had alternated physical punishment with questions. Unlike those whose only experience with interrogation was the movies, Shego knew what she was doing. She knew that it was the promise of pain to come that broke the subject and that too much pain all at once would overload the nervous system. Despite her skill, the man had given them nothing but grunts and curses.

Shego stepped back. "I guess you were right, princess. It doesn't look like we will get any information from him."

She was shocked when Kim stepped up to the man and grabbed his hand in a variation of a come along. "Don't worry; I can get him to talk." Kim told her as the man screamed.

"I will tell you nothing. You may have caught me by surprise this time but not the next. Besides, you are a hero; you don't have the stomach to do what needs to be done." The man spat at Kim.

Kim had simply smiled at him and shifted her hand to his torso where she dug her fingers into and under his ribs. Another scream had been forced past the man's tightly clenched jaw. For the next ten minutes, Shego had watched in stunned fascination as Kim applied a wide variety of joint locks and pressure points until he had finally broken. Soon he was telling them, between gasps, all of the details of the search being mounted for them. Once she was satisfied they had learned everything that man had to tell, Kim had dusted her hands on her pants and walked over to her.

"I guess that's all he knows. With this information, we should be able to avoid the searchers without problem. Let's go." Kim had walked past a stunned Shego and headed into the jungle. After a moment, Shego had followed lost in her thoughts. She was haunted by the look in Kim's eyes, a look she knew all too well. She had seen that look in the mirror too many times when she had stopped being a hero. It was the look of someone who had been betrayed and vowed vengeance, a vengeance that would eat at her soul until it was fulfilled.

Now Shego was seeing that same look on Kim's face whenever the subject of taking down Global Justice came up. Kim seemed obsessed with hurting them personally and not just in exposing their misdeeds. She knew the dangers of that path and wasn't willing to let Kim walk it. Taking a breath and squaring her shoulders, she headed to the computer room to confront Kim.

~O~O~O~

Mask watched the Patterson house from a small wood across the street, taking care to remain unseen. Patterson was a connection between the CIA and his master's organization that he had come to eliminate, but once he drew near the house, he sensed something was wrong and hung back to observe. So far, all he had seen was a few lights in the house but no sign of any people. After waiting fifteen minutes, the lights in the house went off and two figures left the house and made their way to the backyard. He pulled his cell phone out as he watched a cloaked hovercraft leave the house and head north.

"Master, we have a problem." He kept his voice level as his call was answered.

"What is it?" His master's voice was low and calm.

"The Possibles have managed to get information that someone else was involved in what happened in Plantain."

"That is troubling. What have they found out and why was that link not removed?"

Mask was pleased at his master's calm response. "They have questioned Simon Patterson of the CIA. He was station chief in Plantain and approved the plan to eliminate Possible and Shego. I was on my way to deal with him when I sensed something wrong. I observed his house and just watched the Possibles leave."

After a moments though his master asked. "What could they have learned from him and why was he not eliminated earlier?"

Mask gave a slight grin; glad he could easily answer these questions. "The only information about us that Patterson could give them was the names of several of our agents in Plantain. Those agents were all eliminated during the recent coup. Since the only links between him and our organization had been eliminated, he was one of the last on my list to be eliminated."

"Good. Have you finished removing the links between me and the CIA?" Mask felt a slight thrill of pleasure at his master's unaccustomed praise.

"Yes master, Patterson was the last person on the list."

"Good. Return to me, you have much to do if I am to salvage my plan."

"Yes master." Mask put his cell phone away as he made his way to his car with a worried look on his face. Things must be serious if his Master was calling him home.

~O~O~O~

Kim sat at the main table in the computer room surrounded by piles of paper. For the last week, she had been working tirelessly to find the perfect target for them to hit to help take down GJ. Betty had cut their ties to every other intelligence and law enforcement agency and shifted any questionable joint activities to the other agency. She had also increased internal security until almost everything GJ did, including many routine activities, was classified and therefore no longer available using Condor's old AUNT system.

Kim knew she was obsessing over this but she had to do it for Shego's sake. When they had first returned to the Aerie she had been so excited over what they had done to GJ she could barely contain herself. Once it became evident that Global Justice would weather the storm, she had fallen into a deep depression, believing that their efforts had been in vain. Lucky for her, Shego had known what was wrong and had kicked her in the butt to get her moving again.

Kim had dived into the job with a vengeance, determined to find some weakness in global Justice to exploit. Her drive was partly for herself, to satisfy her need for justice, but most of it was for Shego's sake. When Shego had confronted her about giving up, she had seen the look of concern and worry in her eyes. It was a look she had seen before, in Plantain, and seeing it again, here, worried her.

They had been on the run from the Plantainian army for three days and were growing tired of always having to look over their shoulder for pursuers and never able to get more than a few hours of sleep at a time. At Shego's suggestion, they had hidden near a village in the hopes of catching an officer or two to question. They had been shocked when an entire column had appeared. They stayed hidden while the lead officer harangued his troops. Once the troops had deployed, she had argued with Shego about whether or not to question the officer when they heard him order his aide to round up the young woman in the village for his 'entertainment'.

She had shared a cold, rage filled look with Shego, before they has leapt into action without a word. Once the officer's aides were subdued they had grab him and headed deep into the jungle, searching for an isolated clearing where they could question him. Once there, they had strung him up and Shego had started to interrogate him. For the next hour, she watched as Shego used every trick that she knew in an attempt to get the officer to talk. When the man refused to talk, Kim had realized that he expected the worst from Shego and would never break, no matter what she did. Kim also realized that if she, a known hero, did the questioning he would be likely to break.

She had told Shego to let her try and had started to use pressure points and joint locks to interrogate the man. From the man's first scream, she had known by the look on his face that he hadn't expected her to be so cruel and she knew that sooner or later he would crack. Once he had broken, he had told them everything they needed to know about the troop movements in order to avoid capture. As they left the officer tied up in the clearing, she had seen that look of concern and worry on Shego's face.

It had only been several hours later that she realized what that look meant, that Shego was worried about being a failure. That had set Kim to thinking about what she knew of Shego. Before coming to Plantain, she would have said that Shego had no real weaknesses other than the occasional bout of overconfidence. Now, though, Kim had seen Shego display weakness several times. The first had been less than an hour after the ambush on the beach.

Kim had jumped on the back of the ATV along with Shego as they fled the beach, what was left of the ambushing force in hot pursuit. Shego had driven at top speed along a maze of roads and trails, until she had suddenly doubled back and driven through a curtain on vines into a concealed cavern. Shego leapt from the ATV and motioned for Kim to follow.

Once they were on the far side of the room Shego had pulled out a plastic bag and set it on the ground between them. "Strip, Kimmie."

She had started to protest when Shego cut her off. "No time for argument, princess. They must have planted a tracer on you and used that to find me. We don't have time to search for it so we need to ditch everything. Don't worry I have some clothes that should fit you."

Kim had merely nodded as started to undress as Shego tossed a small pile of clothes on the ground near her. Kim had glanced at Shego as she was changing, making certain she would not try to take advantage of her, when she caught Shego quickly turning away from her. She had realized with a start that Shego must be embarrassed by her green skin. It had never occurred to Kim that Shego might want to be normal or that her green skin might be a source of concern to her. Kim had always thought of Shego as a sexy, exotic beauty and had been more concerned with how she could never measure up to such a standard.

Kim shook her head to as she started to get dressed in Shego's borrowed clothes, trying to clear her head of the picture of Shego changing. No thinking about the enemy like that, she thought to herself, you have a boyfriend now. Once they were dressed, she showed Shego her Kimmunicator.

"I don't want to leave this behind. It is my last link to Wade and the outside world." Shego had reached into a locker, pulled out a Faraday bag, and handed it to her.

"Use this. If they can still track us, we will have to ditch the Kimmunicator, too." Kim had nodded as she put the Kimmunicator in the bag and sealed it.

Shego sealed the bag with their old clothes and led Kim over to her Ducati motorcycle. Kim watched with appreciation as Shego climbed on the bike, her tight pants highlighting her legs and rear. After she motioned for her to join her, Kim climbed on the bike behind Shego and pressed her body against the green-skinned woman's body, wrapping her arms around the trim waist of her archenemy and rested her head against her back, giving a small sigh of contentment. I could hold her forever she thought.

With a jerk of her head, Kim snapped awake, her eyes darting around the room as though looking for a hidden enemy. Great, she thought to herself, now you are fantasizing about Shego again. She got up and started to pace the computer room, her feelings in turmoil. It would seem she still had feelings for Shego, feelings she was only now admitting exist. Damn, this isn't how things are supposed to go, this is supposed to be strictly about making GJ pay not about hooking up with an old girlfriend.

Kim dropped into her chair with a sigh and rubbed her face in exhaustion. Maybe I'm just tired, she though. That could explain the dream I had, I dozed off and the memory I was reliving led to my thinking of Shego like that. I was thinking about the events that led up to us getting involved so naturally my dreams would follow that track. That explains everything; I don't feelings for Shego anymore, at least not romantic feelings.

With a determined look on her, Kim returned to her self-appointed task of find a weakness in GJ for her and Shego to exploit. She wouldn't let Shego down again. Although Shego had never said anything about it, she knew in her heart, that she had been disappointed when Kim had accepted the deal with GJ and let Betty put her in prison. While on probation and planning her revenge on GJ, she had vowed to not let Shego down again.

Kim set back to work with determination. Since Betty had shut down or classified so much of GJ's activities, she was going through old records. Looking for leads to covert bases and operations. Once she found a lead, she had to check to see if it had been transferred to another agency or shut down. It was painstaking and tedious work and so far it had only led her to dead ends but she knew that eventually it would give her a lead to one of GJ's hidden secrets. Once they had a target, she and Shego could get back in action again.

For the next several hours, Kim worked at the problem, sorting and tabulating obscure clues in her hunt for a target. Gradually her initial impetus slowed and her work pace slowed until she took a short break. Standing, she gave a mighty yawn as she stretched to relieve tired and cramped muscles. She felt Shego's hands start to massage her shoulder and make their way down her back. She leaned back into the magic hands as she purred over her shoulder.

"That feels great, sweetie, don't stop." she turned her head to look back at Shego and found her lips caught by the green-skinned woman's black ones. Soon their tongues were battling –.

Kim shook her head to break out of the fantasy as she finished her stretch. Damn and double damn, I must really be out of it if I'm fantasizing about Shego while I'm awake. Looking at the clock, Kim realized she had been awake for almost twenty hours straight and, since she had only had four hours of sleep the night before, must be exhausted. No wonder she couldn't think straight and was hallucinating, she was practically asleep on her feet. Not even bothering to stifle a huge yawn, she made her way to the couch nestled in the corner and lay down to get a few hours sleep.

A quick nap and I'll be able to get back to work. I won't let Shego down again; I won't let her get hurt again. With promises of protection dancing through her head, Kim fell into a troubled sleep.

~O~O~O~

James Possible sat silently in his den at home, the house quiet with his wife out of town and his sons in bed. He knew many people considered him the prototypical absentminded genius but he was far from that. He was a trained scientist and keen observer as well as having an eidetic memory, even though many forgot the fact, including his mother and his wife. His absentmindedness was the result of his choosing to not pay attention to things he thought trivial. He found that this kept him from being worried or concerned with the petty concerns of so-called normal life.

Unfortunately, recent strange events were forcing him to consider spending more time on 'normal' life. The visit from Ron tonight was merely the last in a string of odd happenings that had been occurring lately. He had not seen Ron in over three years and had been startled when he opened the front door and found him standing there, wanting to talk. Ron had seemed his old goofy self but something about his manner was off. James closed his eyes as he sat back in his chair and reviewed the meeting with Ron in his mind's eye.

It was Ron's manner that first drew James attention. Although Ron had seemed his normal old self, that in its self was strange. After Kim was placed on probation, Ron had become moody and sullen and once Kim had to move out Ron had seemed heartbroken. Just before he disappeared, he had been acting so depressed that Anne was afraid he might try to kill himself. For him to reappear three years later, acting as though nothing had happened, was not very plausible.

Ron had asked about Kim and the recent trouble at the Space Center. He hadn't been able to tell him much, not wanting to risk breaking any secrecy laws. Looking back on Ron's reaction, he could now see the brief look of disappointment on his face that was swiftly hidden. He also saw that Ron's behavior had been too much like his old self, like an actor returning to well known role. He realized that Ron had been playing a role designed to set him at ease and make him more cooperative.

Obviously, Ron was looking for Kim for some reason and thought he might have some idea of where she was. Briefly, he wondered if Ron was working for Global Justice and his visit had been a ploy to find out if Kim's family had any contact with her. He dismissed the idea immediately once he considered how Global Justice had treated Ron and Ron's feelings about them. That left some unknown, to him, organization that was looking for Kim and using Ron to find her. He wondered if this mystery group was connected to his mother and his wife.

He had always known that there was something between Anne and his mother, something related to his mother's work. He had assumed that his mother had encountered Anne on one of her missions and they simply couldn't talk about how they had met. Now he wondered if that was all there was to their relationship. Ever since the events at the Space Center both Anne and his mother had been acting strange, exchanging covert glances and arranging to talk where no one could overhear what they said.

He considered the trip Anne was currently on. It was supposedly a medical conference on new treatment options for traumatic cranial injuries but he knew there was no such conference being held. He routinely looked over all of the medical conferences seeking ones his wife would like in order to find any potential conflicts with conferences he wanted to attend. The fact that his mother was supposed to be traveling right now and couldn't be reached just added to his suspicions.

In retrospect, it was obvious that there was more going on with Kim than he knew and that both his wife and his mother were involved. He was coming to regret his decision to ignore the more mundane aspects of life in order to focus on science and his job. He contemplated trying to find out more from either his wife or his mother but swiftly gave up the idea. His mother had been keeping secrets from her family since before he was born and was unlikely to change that now. If Anne wanted him to know what she and his mom were up to she would have told him. He knew from experience that she would not tell him anything no matter how much he asked or begged.

Once Anne had made up her mind on something, she would not allow anyone or anything to change it. A smile grew on his face as he remembered the first time he saw her defend her ideas, it had also been the first time he had seen her and he had fallen hopelessly in love from the first moment.

It had been in a class on Neural Anatomy and Artificial Intelligence that MIST was offering in conjunction with the University of Upperton Medical School. The seminar was taught by a visiting professor from Japan who had worked on their Fifth-Generation Computer project. Unfortunately, the professor was a terrible lecturer who simply stood behind his lectern and read from his notes. Any questions would be answered by sarcasm and scorn, followed by a failing grade on the next assignment. Luckily for James, the assignments only called for him to repeat what the professor had said so his eidetic memory made the class easy to pass even if he didn't learn anything.

One day the professor was lecturing about the unsuitability of perceptrons in artificial intelligence and citing Minsky's study showing that perceptrons could only handle linear problem when a voice from the back of the room said he was wrong. The entire class looked to see who had spoken up and saw a red headed female medical student standing in the back row and staring at the professor. The professor told her she was wrong and ordered her to sit down. She refused and cited studies showing that Minsky's study only applied to single layer perceptrons and that by using multi-layer perceptrons one could handle any type of problem, even non-linear ones. She also pointed out that Minsky's study had been released just before funding decisions between perceptrons and his own competing architecture was to be made.

The professor's face had grown red in anger and he had started shouting as the argument continued until a voice from the door cut them off. Everyone in the room turned to see the Dean of the College of Computer Science standing there with several other professors. He told everyone in a loud voice that the professor was wrong and the medical student was right, that multi-layer perceptrons could handle any type of problem and that Minsky's study had been discredited for over a decade. He congratulated the student and assured her she had a bright future. After the Dean left the professor had packed up his notes and stormed out in a huff telling them ask the girl for answers if they had any questions.

The class had clustered around the now blushing red head and started peppering her with questions. She had easily handled the questions put to her and had arranged for the students to meet in the student center twice a week to exchange ideas and answer each others questions. James had hardly said a word the whole time, simply staring at the red head with adoring eyes. From that first moment, he had fallen in hopelessly head over heels in love with her. Since then he had known that she would never back down in defending something she believed in, no matter what the consequences.

~O~O~O~

Kim and Shego had left the Aerie after Kim found the location of Global Justice research facility that specialized in 'studying' meta-humans. From what records they could find, it seemed that not only captured villains and criminals were being studied but also a number of innocent people who GJ had gotten custody of via a variety of underhanded means. They had decided to break into the lab, download all of their records to the internet and free everyone being held there.

The lab was located in a wooded area about ten miles outside of Go City. Once they reached the outside perimeter, Shego worked to remove the alarms on the fence protecting the compound while Kim looked for any guards patrolling the area. Once Shego had bypassed the alarm, she looked at Kim and, seeing her nod to indicate the lack of guards, cut a hole in the fence. They quickly entered the compound and made their way to the main lab building. Kim disabled the alarms on the door while Shego picked the lock.

They silently slipped into the building and made their way toward the main computer center. Just outside the center Ken and Will Du, who stepped from the shadows of an adjacent corridor and blocked their path, stopped them. The Du brothers had standard issue Colt .45s in their hand, both pointed at Kim.

"Surrender now, Possible, and you won't get hurt. This is your only chance." Will sneered at her.

Shego exchanged a look with Kim, before replying. "There is no way you will shoot us in cold blood. We aren't wanted criminals; you would never get away with it." With a smirk on her face, she advanced along with Kim.

Will got an evil grin on his face. "Wrong. Betty has declared you global enemies and ordered your termination on sight. Your bodies will be cremated and the ashes scattered around the world. No one will know what happened to you. As far as anyone knows, you will simply disappear." His finger started to tighten on the trigger of his gun.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion for Kim as Shego leapt into the path of the bullet with an inarticulate cry on her lips, just as Will's gun went off. In an instant, Kim's mind flashed back to Plantain, where Shego had, once before, taken a bullet for her.

They had just joined the local rebels and were making their way back to the rebel's camp when a group of soldiers ambushed them. The rebels had scattered into the jungle, but two small children they had rescued from a burned out village stood frozen in the open. Kim had immediately swung into action, sprinting to the children and scooping them up in her arms. As she dove for the cover of the jungle, Shego stood at the jungles edge, hands blazing with green fire, as she threw a barrage of plasma balls at the soldiers. Kim had rolled into the heavy jungle foliage and stopped to hand the children to some waiting rebels who immediately moved farther into the jungle.

Shego stepped into the jungle near Kim. "Everyone is under cover, princ –." Kim's head snapped around as a shot rang out from directly behind Shego, cutting her off. Kim starred with horror as Shego tumbled to the ground with a rapidly growing bloodstain on the back of her shirt. Without thinking, Kim pulled the knife from her boot and threw it at the man with the AK-47 standing behind Shego. Kim didn't even look to see it strike the man in the eye socket, sending him tumbling to the ground dead as she gathered Shego in her arms and headed deeper into the jungle.

"Shh, sweetie, everything will be alright. As soon as we're safe I'll stop and tend your wounds." Kim whispered as she ran through the underbrush. She stopped in her tracks when Shego coughed and struggled to speak.

"I'm sorry sweetie, it's my fault you got hurt. I should have spotted that guy with the gun. Please don't die."

Kim's memories were cut off by the sight of Shego's body jerking as the bullets from Will's gun hit her. Shego fell bonelessly to the ground with Will grinning evilly at her, his now empty pistol still pointed at her. Ken was bringing his gun to bear on Kim as she sprang into motion. She skipped around Shego's body, headed for Will, her hand a blur as she drew and threw a knife from her belt, hitting Ken in the throat. Ken fell to the ground in a spray of blood as Kim reached Will.

Will attacked Kim, an angry scowl on his face. Kim effortlessly dodged Will's first few attacks, before parrying a punch by grabbing his wrist. Instead of pulling Will's wrist across her body, as he expected, she pulled in the other direction and down. As Will's momentum and the force of Kim's parry pulled Will forward and down, Kim launched a kick at Will's head with the full force of body behind the blow. When Kim's foot met Will's jaw, all of the force of both their bodies was focused on Will's neck, which gave a loud crack as it broke.

Will hit the floor at the same moment Kim knelt at Shego's side, cradling her head in her arms. Shego's lifeless eyes stared up at her as she gently brushed the hair from her face. "I'm so sorry, sweetie, I didn't mean to fail you again. I wish I could take everything back. I would do anything to save you." Tears started to stream down her face as sobs racked her body.

~o~o~

Shego was making her way down the stairs to the computer room, when she heard Kim's voice. Once she reached the room, she saw Kim tossing and turning on the couch, mumbling in her sleep. Shego leaned close and strained to hear what Kim was saying.

"Shh, sweetie, everything will be alright. As soon as we're safe I'll stop and tend your wounds." She heard Kim mutter. "I'm sorry sweetie, it's my fault you got hurt. I should have spotted that guy with the gun. Please don't die."

Shego's face blanched as she realized what Kim must be dreaming about. She remembered the ambush by the soldier's in Plantain when they had first hooked up with the rebels. She remembered Kim risking her life to save the kids as she stood at the jungle's edge, fling plasma to cover her. She remembered stepping back into the jungle when she was shot in the back. She winced in remembered pain as she recalled falling to the ground.

Shego came out of her daze as Kim carried her through the jungle, muttering to herself. "Shh, sweetie, everything will be alright. As soon as we're safe I'll stop and tend your wounds." Shego struggled to speak, to tell Kim she would be all right. "I'm sorry sweetie, it's my fault you got hurt. I should have spotted that guy with the gun. Please don't die."

Shego reached a shaking hand up to touch Kim's cheek in reassurance and gave her a weak smile when she glanced at her questioningly. Soon they had reached a clearing where Kim stopped running and gently set Shego on the ground. Kim brushed Shego's hair from her face as she pulled out her first aid kit.

Shego motioned for her to lean closer. "Kimmie, don't worry about me. My powers let me heal quickly. If I haven't died by now I should be OK. You just need to bandage me up and I will be fine." Kim had stared searchingly into her eyes, looking for any hint of deception. When she found none she had hugged Shego tight.

"I'm so glad, sweetie. I was so worried you would die. It's my fault you got shot I should have been more careful –."

Shego silenced her with a finger across her lips. "It's not your fault, princess, these things happen. I'll be alright." She gave Kim a weak smirk. "And sweetie? What's up with that, cupcake?"

Shego had only smirked again as Kim blushed at her and ducked her head. "What's the matter, Kimmie? Embarrassed that you like me like I like you."

Kim had starred at her with a startled look on her face before smirking back at her. "I thought I needed a nickname for you to go with all the ones you gave me. Would you rather I called you green bean or emerald?"

Shego had stifled a laugh as she smiled back up at Kim. "That's OK, sweetie is fine."

Kim's smile had grown larger as she pulled Shego closer to her and planted a kiss on her check. "Good."

Shego was pulled from her memories when she heard Kim mutter. "I'm so sorry, sweetie, I didn't mean to fail you again. I wish I could take everything back. I would do anything to save you." She realized Kim must be having nightmares about her being hurt and moved to hold her close.

Kim had snuggled closer to her and quieted down without waking up. Shego stroked Kim's forehead to keep her calm as she sat deep in thought. Kimmie was obviously worried about Shego if she was having nightmares about her getting hurt. She wondered if Kim still had feeling for her like she had feelings for her. She had tried to convince herself and Kim that she no longer loved Kim but she had to admit, at least to herself, that she loved the red headed crusader. If Kim had only been after Global Justice for revenge she would probably just stayed friends with her. But Kim was still the same hero on a quest for justice that she had fallen in love with during that week in Plantain.

She didn't want Kim to go through what she had gone through. The obsessive search for vengeance that leads nowhere, while everyday your morals become weaker and weaker as your rage grows stronger and stronger. Kim needed to be spared that hurt of losing her ideals and the empty feeling inside that could only be filled with rage. Shego would save Kim just as Kim had saved her.

~o~o~

Kim slowly rose to consciousness, her mind fuzzy and confused. Normally she only slept in short burst, two or three hours at a time. For once, though, Kim felt fully rested and refreshed, as though she had a full night's sleep. With a start, Kim realized that the soft surface she was resting on was not a pillow but Shego. She looked around in confusion, relieved when she found herself still on the couch in the computer room.

She wondered why Shego had joined her on the couch, maybe Shego had another nightmare? Although Shego had tried to keep it a secret, Kim was aware of her recent nightmares and had been keeping an eye on Shego to insure she was all right. The thought of nightmares brought a dim memory of her own nightmares to Kim's mind. Kim frowned to herself as she dragged the memory to light and realized that Shego was not the only one with problems.

Careful not to wake Shego, Kim slipped from her arm and started to pace the room, her mind in a whirl. Evidently, both Shego and her were having nightmare about the other, nightmares that were keeping both of them from sleeping. If they were going to take down Global Justice, they needed to be at the top of their game, not half-dead of fatigue. She went over dozens ways to solve the problem in her mind, rejecting most of them as too impractical or time consuming, when her eyes lit on Shego sleeping peacefully on the couch.

Glancing at the clock Kim realized she had been asleep for over nine hour, the longest sleep she had had in over a year. She was willing to bet it was also the longest sleep Shego had had in years. It seemed the easiest and most practical solution to their problem was to sleep holding each other. Kim realized with a start that she had carefully avoided using the phrase 'sleep together' even in her mind, for fear of what it would bring up. Kim hadn't lied when she told Shego she wasn't in love with her anymore when she had first broken her out of prison.

But, she now realized, in the months since then, she had once again fallen in love with the green-skinned, sarcastic mouthed beauty. Shego could have left Kim to get her vengeance on her own or returned to a life of crime but she hadn't. She had stayed at Kim's side through thick and thin, never arguing with Kim's decisions or trying to convince her to take the easy way if it meant innocents could be harmed. Kim could see, now, how she had been fooling herself for the last several weeks, telling herself that she was only concerned for Shego and anything else was due to her being tired and overworked.

Kim stopped her pacing and looked at Shego sleeping on the couch for several minutes before making up her mind. Kim smiled slightly to herself as she gently settled into her green goddess's arms again. I guess I'll just have to keep my feelings a secret for now and take what I can get. With a contented sigh, she drifted back to sleep as Shego held her close.


End file.
